A Bloodstone in a Sea of Pearls
by Warpath Grizzly
Summary: When Mildred Anderson set foot on Oahu, she brought the winds of change with her. Countless people will be affected  by her presence, but none so much as Lt. Gooz Wood, whose life is about to be unravelled by three little words: What's a Fryburger?
1. Spanning The Oceans

Location: Unknown

Date: October 4th, 1941

Time: 7:00 AM

Dried leaves crackled underfoot as the young girl was guided forcefully to her destination. Having been blind folded, she had no way of knowing where she was, but she did have several clues. Birds could be heard in abundance, and not only could she feel the leaves under her feet, she could also hear them being dragged away by the wind, which also carried the scent of rotting earth and foliage. It was this that led the girl to believe that she was about as far from any city as one could get. No cars could be heard, and the only footsteps that the girl could detect other than her own belonged to the two men who had her arms. They walked briskly, nearly causing her to trip a few times, however when this happened they always stopped to helped her up. She was no prisoner, she knew this. The blindfold was merely for her protection.

Soon all noises stopped, and the air became so dense and stale that it was almost stifling. The dirt of the forest floor ended abruptly, and was replaced by what the girl could only assume was wood, judging from the way her shoes sounded when they hit the floor. She was led forward a couple of feet, and made to sit on a bench. Her blindfold was removed, revealing two Gestapo officers smiling down at her.

"Would you care for anything miss, a drink or some food perhaps?"

One of them offered while the girl rubbed her eyes, trying to adjust to the light of the room. She hadn't seen daylight since sunset the previous day, and adjusting to a place where the light seemed to be bouncing off the walls was becoming rather irritating.

"No, I'm fine thank you, I would like to see my uncle though, if I may."

She said, trying to sound as polite as she could whilst having her eyes scorched out of her head. The same man who had offered her food nodded and went away, presumably to let her uncle know that his niece had arrived. The second man sat with her, putting his hand over her eyes, only allowing a bit of light to shine through.

"Thank you."

She said, giving him a grateful smile.

"Are you staying here for long?"

The man asked.

"I'm not sure."

She said simply, not knowing the nature of his clearance level. He was Gestapo, but that didn't mean he knew everything that was going on in the Führer's mind. The man seemed incredibly dissatisfied with her answer, but she was spared further questioning as her uncle entered the room. The young man immediately stood and let out a strong;

"Heil!"

As did the young girl, but the Führer simply smiled and outstretched his arms to the girl, ignoring the soldier before him.

"Mein Valkyrie,"

He said simply, as the girl rushed to give her uncle a hug.

"Good morning Uncle. How have you been?"

She asked as he held her delicately.

"Gut, gut. And you?"

"Perfectly fine. Mama said to say hello to you,"

"How nice! I'll be sure to call her soon, but come, come; we have important business to attend to."

Hitler said, guiding her into his office. She looked back and called a thank you to the two Gestapo men, who simply saluted her and marched off to continue with their business. Once seated behind his desk, Adolf lifted a package and handed it to his niece. She took it and sat down gracefully in a comfortable leather chair, smoothing out the grey fabric of her dress over her legs before opening the envelope.

"You look very pretty in that dress. Did your mother make it for you?"

Hitler asked as he leisurely signed a few papers.

"Thank you, yes she did. She wanted to make the collar wider, but I wanted her to keep it simple and modest."

She said, smiling gracefully. Her uncle nodded.

"Yes, your mother would want to do that,"

He chuckled.

"I think the wider collar would have been a bit too much. It looks beautiful on you the way it is."

"Thank you uncle, I'm glad you like it. Is this everything I need?"

She asked, having gone through the contents package.

"Yes, everything you need is in there, and I assume you already know the nature of the mission."

The girl nodded.

"Good."

Hitler stood and hugged his niece.

"Be brave, Mein Valkyrie. Your cause is a noble one."

"I know, Uncle. I know."

Location: New York City, NY, U.S.

Date: October 4th, 1941

Time: 1:00 AM

The city was alive with light, and in the early morning hours, the parties were in full swing. Soldiers and nurses mingled, and there were plenty of dance partners for everyone, no matter where you went. In one of the higher end districts, a group of nurses danced the night away, giggling and laughing with their partners. On the docks, the Queen Mary floated peacefully as a fresh coat of grey paint dried on her hull. The waves sloshed smoothly and steadily next to her, creating a sort of oceanic heart beat against the metal of her sides. Some of her occupants stood on the open air decks, admiring the shimmering lights that the city cast upon the near black harbour waters. It was a moonless night, which made every light seem to shine ten times brighter in the darkness. The diners that remained open all night were packed, full of soldiers who were downing burgers in an attempt to sober up a bit before they went back to the never-ending flow of women and alcohol that New York City provided. It was just the sort of atmosphere to both excite and calm the senses. Being in New York blinded many of them as to the ominous presence of war; a presence that lurked behind every soldier's eyes, staring through them and seeing what they loved most. It was as though it was plotting, planning to rip away whatever the men focused their eyes upon. Only a certain few, those who had been through this kind of war before, wouldn't be blinded by things as trivial as bright lights and booze. No, they could see what was truly happening, and it was only the sheer horror of knowing what was going on half a world away that made them close their eyes.

Location: Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, U.S.

Date: October 3th, 1941

Time: 8:00 PM

Way out in the Pacific, on an island in the Hawaiian chain known as Oahu, Lt. Gooz Wood was in a state of deep thought. He always thought in the shower. In general, it was a good place to think, he figured. No one would bother him, well they might he supposed but he didn't think anyone would want to. As for his thoughts at that particular shower time, they were centered on the ladies he had been meeting over the past months. He had been stationed at Pearl Harbor for almost a year now, and was quite well acquainted with Oahu. He had gotten attached to the island, just not the people. Well, no, that wasn't true. He had made one good friend, a man called Earl Sistern. He was a sergeant that worked with him at Wheeler Air Field. Besides Earl, he hadn't met anyone, never mind any women that he was particularly fond of, even though he knew the nurses quite well. It was an unfortunate truth that his routine day off consisted of getting up, going surfing, grabbing a quick bite to eat, surfing some more, then going to the hospital to get stitched up. Should the injury be bad enough, he might even skip his meal and replace it with a trip to the hospital before going back to the beach to surf some more. He figured that even if he had taken an interest in someone, the fact that he was constantly covered in stitches wouldn't exactly appeal to her.

His jaw stung slightly as a bit of shampoo got into his newest set of stitches.

Why he was going to the bar that evening, he had no idea. The nurses had told him not to drink –mind you they had also told him not to surf for a week and he had blatantly disobeyed that rule-, and he sure as hell wasn't going to impress anybody with his scratched up face. Then again, what else was there to do? It was already dark, so he couldn't surf, and he would be alone in the barracks if he didn't go to the bar. He could always read a book; but he didn't have any books worth reading, and in all the time he had been in Oahu he had never noticed a single library. Perhaps, he thought, that this should be a future endeavour. Read more, surf less.

No sooner had he thought of the idea, he tossed it away. That was ridiculous.

Letting his mind wander from thought to thought, he came across an interesting idea. What if he could put fries between two buns? What would one call that? A Fryburger? He liked vinegar on his fries, would he like vinegar so much on his Fryburger? He vowed to try it next time he stopped in at a diner. Mayonnaise went well with fries and burgers; he could put that on his Fryburger too, along with some ketchup and vinegar. Maybe a bit of lettuce as well, just so he could say he got his greens into the meal. His mind suddenly shifted to a hot dog bun filled with fries, but he dismissed the idea. It simply wasn't doable; the symmetry with the fries and the bun didn't work out at all.

When Gooz stepped out of the shower he noticed the other men getting ready for the bar the same way he was. Why he noticed this, he didn't know. He just did, and it scared him for a second at how much emphasis his mind had put on that moment. Another few seconds later and he had forgotten about it completely, and focused on trying to find a fresh pair of underwear.

"Hey boys, did you hear the good news?"

One of men hollered, his voice echoing through that part of the barrack.

"New nurses are coming in within a few days."

He said with a laugh. A few of the men hollered their approval, as did Gooz, but it was superficial. He knew the nursing staff all too well. Three boats of new nurses had come in while he had been stationed in Oahu, and each one brought the same thing; duplicates of the old nurses. It was beginning to get annoyingly redundant.

"Hey, Gooz, you okay?"

Earl asked, tapping Gooz lightly on the heel with his foot.

"Hm? Yeah, why?"

"You're staring at your underwear like you're about to eat them,"

Earl said bluntly. Gooz just nodded his head and began to put some clothes on, making a split second decision to not go to the bar. Instead, he headed out on his motorbike, and drove to the nearest diner to order himself a Fryburger.


	2. Morphine

Grey clouds covered the sky that morning, indicating that it would probably be a rainy day in Oahu. A small lizard crawled its way across the window sill, trying to find a bit of heat from the building it pressed itself up against. A few of the men were already up and had begun their morning routines in the showers that Schofield Barracks provided them with.

All these things went completely unnoticed by Gooz, who was wrestling with his blankets in his early morning stupor. He had had such a terrible night sleep that with all the tossing and turning he had managed to mummify himself in his sheets.

Being stirred by all the commotion, Earl cracked one eye open and chuckled at his friend.

By the time Gooz managed to free himself, most of the other officers had gone to the field. The lieutenant sighed heavily and began to get prepared for the day, remembering halfway though his shower that it was Saturday. He doubted himself for a while after that, wondering where everyone had gone, if not the field. The barrack was practically empty with the exception of Earl, himself, and a few other men. He searched his memory of the previous night, looking for clues as to what was going on. As he thought, his eyes turned to one of the cots in the room. It belonged to a man named Hoover. He had gained a bit of infamy in the barracks as the man who had porn in his foot locke-

The boat. The boat with all the new nurses; that was where everyone had gone. Not only that, but he would probably be their test subject for the day. He had an appointment at the hospital that day to get his stitches checked, and quite frankly he didn't feel like being poked and prodded at by the girls. Still, if he wanted to go surfing any time soon without having to get salt in his wounds, he would have to brave the visit.

He had to groan when he entered the doors, as he could already hear voices of women he didn't recognise. He was directed towards ward A, which had all of three patients including himself, but over twelve nurses.

"Good morning, Lieutenant. Please, come and sit."

One of the nurses he had known for a long time motioned him over, patting one of the beds.

"Morning Mary."

He said, waving slightly to her. She smiled politely and got out the usual equipment she needed to fix his jaw. He watched her work until a small groan from the bed next to him attracted his attention. He looked over to see a young girl, no more than 18 years of age, out like a light on the bed next to the one he was sitting on. She had thick brown hair, which had slight waves to it, a few flyaways here and there. Her nails weren't painted, and as far as he could tell, she didn't have any makeup on. He suspected that all this was due to the fact that she hadn't been conscious for three days. Tomorrow, he was sure, all these flaws would be corrected and she would look like every other woman once again. A pity really; as he appreciated the clear nails. A ray of noon light caught the ends of her hair, causing it to take on a golden sheen. A small tube led from her hand to a hanging bottle above her, which Gooz assumed to be morphine.

"Tunses nik..."

The girl groaned again, her arm shifting a bit as Mary took hold of Gooz jaw, forcing his attention back onto herself.

"Why the morphine drip?"

He asked, seeing that the girl had no injuries; or at least none that weren't covered by the hospital robe she was wearing. Mary looked over and nearly screamed.

"Oh, Alice! Alice, take her off the drip! I told them to give her a shot not an IV!"

"New nurses?"

He asked, making Mary rolled her eyes.

"The girl got sick on her way here, so they knocked her out with the only thing they had handy."

She said with a disgusted look on her face.

"A skillet?"

He asked, but the nurse shook her head.

"A baseball bat."

She said. Gooz looked at the girl again thinking about how lucky she was to be alive. A bat to the head had killed people in the past, but this girl looked just fine. Knocked out, but fine.

"She gonna be okay?"

Gooz asked, but Mary didn't respond. She pulled the last stitch from his chin and put on a gauze patch.

"Now that wound is still pretty fresh, so if you knock your chin hard enough it'll split. Stay away from the surfboard for a while longer okay?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Any plans for this afternoon?"

"Gonna get me a Fryburger."

He said with a grin. He had decided last night that he liked them very much, but he still wasn't done experimenting with them quite yet.

"What's a Fryburger?"

The voice wasn't Mary's. He looked down at the bed beside him to see the girl looking at him with pupils as wide as saucers. He could tell by the way her body was swaying from side to side as she balanced herself on her elbows, and the way her eyes slowly fluttered closed and open that the morphine was still flowing like sludge through her system.

"Mildred stay down, you're still too weak to be getting up."

Mary said but the girl just glared at her.

"No. I wanno whasa fryburgur."

She slurred, making Mary roll her eyes again.

"Don't be stubborn. Lay down."

"It's a burger,"

Gooz said before Milly could refuse again.

"With fries instead of a patty in the middle."

He continued. The girl smiled sleepily and flopped back down on the bed. Mary sighed and turned back to her patient.

"Gooz I hate to ask this, but would you mind taking her to the barracks?"

She asked, beginning to prepare a needle for the third patient there. Gooz looked from Mary to the girl, and back to Mary.

"Are you sure?"

"Gooz please? These girls are supposed to have been registered nurses for three years but as far as I've seen all they can do is feed old people. They can't afford to miss their training, and this gentleman over here won't be up for another week."

Gooz looked at the saucer eyed girl next to him. Her eyes were still opening and closing as she tried to focus her energy on staying awake.

"Mary... Mary I wan food."

She said. Her speech was a bit more coherent than the last time.

"There's none here sweetheart."

She said, preparing another unknown concoction that Gooz wasn't sure he wanted to know about.

"Mister, can you gemme some food?"

As impossible as it seemed, her eyes got bigger as she silently begged him.

"Okay."

He could have slapped himself for it. His response could have been anything from; _Yes, my lady, it would be an honour to take you to get food _to _I would love it if you came with me_. But no. It had to be _Okay_. Her face lit up in a smile that could have outshone the sun until Mary interjected.

"No. You need to let that morphine get out of your system first. If you eat you'll just throw it all up again."

She said, taking the IV out of the girl's arm, shooting a glare at Evelyn, who had forgotten to do it. At once Milly sat up and tilted back and forth, unable to balance herself. Mary tried to stabilise her, but Milly pushed the nurse away lightly and in the process fell flat back onto the bed. Mary reached for the girl's hands again, only to find Gooz lifting Milly's shoulders.

"Yoor pullin' my hair,"

She said. Gooz almost let go of her, but instead kept bringing her forward until she sat up.

"Sorry."

He said gently. He waited for a moment, and the girl stuck out her hand to him. He placed his own hand under hers and helped her up. Her legs wobbled a bit, but Gooz's grip on her hand never lessened. The nurses gave her back her civilian clothes – a blouse and a pair of slacks- and soon she was walking out of the hospital, using his arm as a support. He lead her to his bike, all the while growing fearful that she was going to fall off the motorcycle, crack her head open or worst break her nec-

"Whass wrong?"

Milly asked, looking up at Gooz from behind butterfly lashes. Gooz just cleared his throat and shook his head, looking up at the sky until he nearly tripping over his own bike. He tightened his lips and gripped his knee at the sharp pain the shot through it from hitting the cold metal of the bike.

"Are you okay?"

She asked, laughing a bit despite herself.

"Fine."

He said, his voice straining a little. He took his arm from hers and swung his leg over the bike. He was about to reach out and take her hand when he stopped.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

He asked, thinking about how she was still wobbly on her own two feet. Being on a bike might not be the best of things for her at that moment.

"I've been around bikes my whole life, mister. I can fall asleep on one and still stay on."

She said bluntly, stunning him a bit. Her speech was perfect. By her tone, he suspected that her anger had just overridden the morphine. Deciding it would be best not to test her, he held out his arm to help her onto the bike.

"Hop on."

He said. She smiled and climbed on, putting her hands gently on his waist.

"You might want to hold on a bit tighter than that."

He said, so she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his back. It felt good.

The bike flared into life and flew down the roads of Oahu for about ten minutes before a dreadful rumble went through his back, and he knew it wasn't from himself. He pulled over and turned around, only to notice a great weight on his back. Milly was asleep.

"Hey... ma'am?"

He called back to her, making her lift her head from his shoulder.

"Was that your stomach?"

He asked bluntly. A light blush painted itself over the girl's face as she nodded. Even in her sleep she had felt her hunger.

Gooz brought the bike's breath back again and made a u-turn. Halfway back to Honolulu, she was asleep again. When she woke up a smile graced her face. Before her, stood a Diner called The Greasy Spoon.

They sat at a booth, and almost immediately the waitress trotted over with two menus.

"Hey y'all, my name's Tina, I'll be servin' y'all today. Can I get y'all anything to drink?"

Gooz noticed the girl visibly wince every time Tina said yall.

"I'll have a Prima Pils."

He said, looking back at the Milly.

"Chocolate milkshake please, and I know what I want already."

"Sure thing huney, what can I get ya?"

"A Fryburger please."

Tina's writing stopped and she looked at the girl before her in a puzzled manner.

"A what-burger sorry?"

"Just bring us two hamburgers and a stack of fries please."

Gooz interjected. Tina shrugged but wrote the order down anyways.

"Comin' right up."

She said, and trotted away again. Gooz then watched as Milly turned her head, taking in The Greasy Spoon in all its glory.

"Nice place. I'm Milly by the way."

She said extending her hand across the table. Gooz shook it gently, surprised by her firm grip.

"Gooz. Gooz Wood."

"Well that's original."

She said with a grin. Gooz just shrugged. Had he gotten the chance, he might have told his parents to name him Henry or something.

"So what do you do here Gooz?"

She asked, turning her attention to the milkshake that had just been brought to her. She took a few good gulps as Gooz spoke.

"I'm a lieutenant in the army."

She nearly choked on her drink. Quickly but clumsily, she stood at the side of the table, her hand raised to her forehead.

"My apologies, sir, I didn't know."

She said, much to Gooz's embarrassment. He motioned at her to sit down.

"Sir, I can leave if you now deem this situation inappropriate."

She said, now sitting perfectly straight and at attention whereas before she had been slouching. He could still see the morphine playing with her eyes, trying to force them closed, but Milly fought against it firmly.

"It's okay, really,"

"Thank you, sir,"

"Don't call me sir,"

He added.

"Mr. Wood?"

"Just as bad,"

"Wood?"

"Still horrible,"

"Gooz?"

"Yes?"

She laughed and nodded.

"Gooz it is then."

She said just as their burgers and stack of fries came to the table. Mimicking him, Milly picked out everything but the lettuce from her burger, and put a handful of fries between the buns. She sprinkled it with a bit of vinegar and took a bite, moaning as she tasted the first hint of food she'd had in days.


	3. Ghost Stories

"So how did it go at the hospital yesterday?"

Earl asked, making Gooz groan into his pillow. It was tough enough trying to get to sleep with the thousands of unanswered questions already in his mind; he didn't need Earl chatting him up at all hours of the night as well.

It was already Monday, according to the clock, but as long as the sun hadn't yet risen, Gooz still considered it Sunday. Earl chuckled at his friend as he read the newspaper for the second time that day. He wanted to make sure he had gotten all the details right, and that he hadn't missed anything when he had first read it in the morning.

"Good,"

Gooz responded simply, wishing that closing his eyes would make him fall asleep instantly. Though he supposed in the long run that that would be a bad thing. What would happen if he blinked while he was on his motorcycle? Terrible things, he was sure.

"How are the new nurses?"

Earl asked.

"They're just fine,"

Gooz bit out with an edge in his voice. He was thankful he was finally beginning to feel sleep invade his mind, blurring out the rest of Earl's questions enough for him to hear the sounds but not understand the words. As he faded into darkness, one last thought ran through Gooz's mind. Echoing in near unconsciousness was Milly's voice asking him what a Fryburger was.

* * *

Gooz was grateful for the good night's rest, as that morning brought him a grievance as he had never had before. It went by the name Big 40; so named for the forty other men that had gone nuts trying to fix it, and that was when it had been named. It had added a few casualties since then. Supposedly the plane had a curse on it, and so the minute it was wheeled into Hangar 2, Gooz, Earl, and Joe all sucked in a breath. Would they lose their mind to the plane like the others before them? The answer was given to them by mid-day, when Joe threw down his wrench and yelled at the plane.

"If the damn thing don't wanna start them I'm not gonna waste my time tryin' ta start it!"

He then stormed off, leaving Gooz and Earl looking at each other with wild eyes, wondering who was going to turn on the other next, or if they would go mad simultaneously.

"Lunch break?"

"Yup."

Gooz was as quick with his answer as Earl was with his question. All they wanted to do was get away from the plane, and quickly.

They made their way over to dining hall where most of the soldiers took their lunch. They could go elsewhere if they really wanted to, but it was ill advised. A drill could be called at any minute. The two men got in line and were given a generous plate of spaghetti and a bun. Gooz gave a half-hearted smile, knowing it could have been a lot worse. He tried to avoid chilly days, because it felt as though you were swallowing sand paper. Relative to that, the pasta was delicious.

"There's Joe,"

Earl said, pointing to the far corner where the man was sitting, a Cheshire Cat grin on his face as he gazed at a woman that sat on the opposite side of the room from him. She had her hands up and was pulling her hair into a makeshift bun so Gooz couldn't see her face. He shook his head at Joe and went to sit down with him.

"You seem to have recovered nicely,"

Earl commented as he sat beside Joe. The man simply smirked before his face lit up like a light bulb. He smacked Earl's arm lightly and pointed to the woman across the hall.

"One guy's already tried to talk to her; he walked away in near tears."

Gooz highly doubted that a grown soldier would walk away in tears after being rejected, but still he turned and watched as a man approached the woman, covering Gooz's view of her. It wasn't thirty seconds later that the man walked away with a look of sheer defeat on his face. That was when Gooz noticed the big brown eyes following the man their owner had just scorned.

Gooz turned around and grabbed his tray.

"Where you going?"

Joe asked.

"To talk to her,"

He said standing and moving towards her. He half heard Joe's protests, but they were ignored completely.

He hadn't even sat down before she raised her head with a terrible glare, her mouth open and ready to slander anything and everything she could find until her gaze settled on his face. Her look softened immediately and she greeted him with a smile.

"Good afternoon, sir,"

She chirped, bringing herself up from the slouch she had previously been in. Gooz frown as he sat opposite to her.

"I thought you weren't gonna call me that,"

He reminded her, only to have her laugh.

"Any contract made while a person is not of sound mind shall be void. Isn't that the law?"

Gooz had never heard of that law, but hell if he was going to let her know that.

"That's not playin' fair,"

He noted, pouting as he broke open his bread. Milly just shrugged. He followed her eyes over his shoulder where Joe had a look of angered confusion on his face while Earl simply chuckled in amusement at him.

"He's thinking the same thing I take it?"

She asked, as Gooz turned back around. He nodded, letting out a chuckle of his own.

"Yeah, I think he likes you,"

Gooz said, focusing his attention on her face to see if there was any sort of reaction. Much to his chagrin, she seemed to consider the fact for a moment.

"He can like me all he wants, that's his business,"

She stated in a neutral tone, making Gooz wonder exactly what she meant by it.

"I can't exactly tell him he can't like me, sir,"

She clarified, reading his mind. It didn't occur to him that he had confusion written all over his face.

_This girl must be psychic_,

The thought to himself. That's when he noticed the dog tags that swung gently against the white fabric of her tank top.

"You're not a nurse?"

He asked, only now noticing the way she was dressed.

_Like a mechanic..._

"No, sir."

"Again with the sir!"

He cried, throwing his hands in the air, mocking the frustration he actually felt. She just chuckled as she ate the last bit of her food and stood to bring her tray to the racks.

"Want me to take yours too?"

She asked, hand outstretched. He placed the tray in her hands and watched her as she walked.

Her gate was steady, though she limped slightly, favouring her left leg. At least she wasn't wobbly in the knees as she had been when he had first met her.

"Hey, Gooz. You gonna introduce us to your friend?"

Joe's voice floated to Gooz's ears from behind, making him cringe. He looked up at Milly, who had the single most unreadable look on her face that he had ever seen. She looked like a master chessman, or poker player, or politician; someone who's job it was to reveal nothing of their true intentions. It was not enough, however, to scare away his friends. Standing up, Gooz touched his forehead, as was his custom if he had no cap on. It was his sign of defeat.

"Milly, this is Joe, and Sgt. Sistern."

"Sirs,"

She said, saluting them.

"Please, Earl,"

The man said, extending his hand. She gripped it and smiled delicately at him.

"Milly; that's my new favourite name."

Joe said offering his hand. She took it, and blushed when he brought it to his lips and kissed it.

"Last night it was Barbara, and the night before that it was Sue,"

Gooz noted. Joe shot him a spiteful look before he put his other hand over Milly's, holding it captive.

"Ignore him, he's prone to dishonesty,"

He said, honey dripping from his every word.

"Where are you working, Doll? I'll walk you there."

He offered, only to have her take back her hand and steel her eyes on him.

"I am not a doll. Nor am I fragile, or inanimate, and I will not bend to your will. Try your act on another woman. One who's spineless,"

She spat, before making her way out. Gooz and Earl looked over at Joe, whose jaw and fists were clenched. Several of the men behind them snickered, though they swiftly silenced themselves as Joe rounded on them.

Outside Gooz and Earl found Milly at Hangar 2 surrounded by fresh suited young men. Gooz sighed as he made his way over, wondering how one girl could get herself into so much trouble. Contrary to his belief, however, she seemed to be enjoying their company.

"You guys new?"

He asked, to which the men nodded. They introduced themselves as Lieutenants Red Winkle, Billy Thompson, Anthony Fusco and Danny Walker.

"We're supposed to be working in Hangar 2 with y'all."

Milly cringed.

"You alright?"

Earl asked, noticing the act.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just cold,"

Milly said rubbing her arm. Gooz knew better. She hated that word, or rather that combination. Why he didn't know, but he was interested in finding out. For now, however, he was content to let her get away with hating it.

"Boys, meet Big 40!"

Earl exclaimed, opening his arms towards the plane.

"Why is it called Big 40?"

Milly asked, cocking her head slightly to the left. Earl got up onto the wing and motioned for the men to gather around. He cleared his throat and began the tale of Big 40.

"It was a clear day, just like today,"

Earl began stretching out his hand to the hangar's open doors. The men turned to look at the sky before looking back to Earl.

"Big 40 here was brand new, not a chip in her paint, nor a dent in her shell. A man named Bradley Hunts was to be her first pilot, and he couldn't wait to test her out. It was his first day on the job, and he was eager to make an impression with the General. He was just about to get her onto the taxi when heavy, black storm clouds came rolling in."

"'It's just a bit of rain!'"

Gooz interjected as the voice of the pilot.

"He thought to himself,"

Earl said.

"'I can fly through rain no problem!'"

Again Gooz's voice rang out through the hangar. Milly had a sort of amazed look on her face that made him inwardly proud. She thought his little part in the story was totally cool, and he knew it.

"He can fly through rain,"

Earl continued, a sort of mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"The pilot assured himself, only to find a mechanic dashing towards him. It was his Italian friend, Carlo Demarco, coming towards him with grave news."

Earl paused for effect.

"Your wife has been cheating on you, Carlo cried. Unable to believe his ears, Brad asked Carlo to repeat himself. He had heard right, his wife had been cheating on him. Mad with rage, Brad gunned the engine into life and took off into the skies, leaving Carlo behind on the runway. It was three months time before they found Big 40, on none other than Easter Island amongst the great stone heads. When they found it, the plane wouldn't start, and supposedly over forty men have gone insane trying to get it to work. Upon one of the inspections, they found a note, lodged way down in one of the guns that read-"

"'No man will ever start this plane again, not so long as I'm around.'"

Gooz recited. He was standing close enough to Milly that he saw her skin rise with goose bumps. He took her arms and rubbed them lightly. It wasn't all that cold in the hangar, Gooz thought until he noticed the grateful look on her face as she looked up at him.

_She's scared._

Gooz mentally smacked himself on the forehead for being such an idiot. He hadn't thought the story would really scare her though. She didn't seem to be the type to be spooked by a story; then again Gooz couldn't exactly disprove said story.

"We've made this plane perfect. There is no reason it shouldn't start. Anyone care to try?"

Earl asked, motioning to the cockpit. The man named Anthony went first, and came up empty handed. The engine never fired no matter what any of the pilots did. Gooz was just about to have a go at it himself when he felt the tug of Milly leaving his arms.

"Joe was it? Would you mind giving me a leg up?"

She asked, focusing those big brown eyes on the man she had earlier cussed out. Dutifully, he approached and laced his fingers together, wincing as she lifted her. With his and Earl's help, Milly was up on the wing in no time. She settled herself into the plane and went through the motion. Gooz felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Milly's lips curled up in a wicked grin.

"I win,"

She called and pushed the starter, and the plane roared as it came to life.


	4. Cookies

No one could figure out how Milly had started the plane, and she wouldn't tell them. Earl had spotted her later with a new starter switch and a few wires in her hand, but that was the extent of their knowledge. When the next plane rolled around, however, the problem with it was obvious. The propeller was missing, as was the tip of the tail; all the while, fuel, coolant, and oil all leaked simultaneously from the undercarriage.

"What in hell happened?"

Earl bellowed at the man who had used a small tractor to tow the mangled plane into the hanger. Milly immediately began putting pans underneath it to catch the leakage, only to have Gooz take her arm and pull her away.

"That thing's a tickin' time bomb, you should know that."

He scolded, motioning for the rest of the men to clear out of the hangar. Milly ripped her arm away and glared up at him, a sight that wasn't all that threatening, but Gooz backed off anyways. He intended on leaving her alone until she rounded on him, advancing until she had him pinned against the aluminum walls.

"And just what do you think is going to happen when all that junk seeps into the water?"

"Well I-"

"Did you ever consider that everyone on the base might get sick? You can forget about defending this little island with everyone hurling up blood before they even get shot at!"

She yelled fiercely, cutting him off. He was about to answer when he noticed Earl touching the badge sewed onto his sleeve. Gooz looked down at Milly and steeled himself. He didn't want to reprimand her. He had brought this upon himself by telling her not to call him sir, but he knew if he didn't put her in line she would soon get out of hand. It was either he set her straight there and then, or Doolittle would do it later on. He cringed at the idea. Doolittle could be real harsh sometimes. She opened her mouth to continue when he cut her short.

"Do you realise that this is the second time today you've spoken out of turn to a ranking officer?"

He asked calmly, raising an eyebrow. Deflated, Milly crossed her arms and bit her lip, averting her eyes to the floor.

"There could be damaged wires in there, and if a spark hits the fuel you would be incinerated in a matter of seconds, Private."

Milly glared up at him.

"When the men start to drop dead around here, don't say I didn't warn you. _Sir_."

She added in an almost bitter tone before storming out of the hangar towards the rest of the men. Gooz hated himself for that. He didn't like reprimanding anyone. He was a relaxed, playful individual, not a drill sergeant. Earl patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"She knows her limits now, Gooz. She won't cross that line again."

He said, seeing the distressed look on his face.

"Yeah, but who's going to fix the plane?"

"I'm putting this one down for parts. There's no use trying to revive something that's already dead."

Gooz nodded, knowing his friend was right. He looked from the plane, to Milly, and back to Earl before leaning over to his friend.

"Make sure they do put pans under there when it's draining."

He said lowly, making Earl chuckle as the two made their way out of the hangar.

* * *

Gooz was happy. Very happy.

All his troubles were being washed away with every crash of the waves as they rolled in towards the shore. The sands of the beach were packed with people, crowded and bustling. On the ocean, however, there was space aplenty. His abs tightened as he balanced himself, the board beneath him skimming smoothly down the barrel of the wave. Nothing could touch him there, nothing could make him feel anxious, or down, or shark. Shark?

_SHARK!_

The board tipped as Gooz staggered backwards out of surprise, sending him tumbling into the water. He narrowly avoided being bludgeoned in the head by his board. Instead, a sting in his foot let him know that the board had cuffed his ankle. He surfaced quickly, looking around and trying to find either his board or the shark. He quickly found out that he didn't like not knowing where either was. His board smacked him in the back of the head when the next wave rolled around. Thankfully it was a smaller wave, and so he was able to pull himself up and paddle like a maniac to shore where he dragged himself as far up shore as he could get. He sat himself down in the shade of a palm tree, and tenderly poked at the back of his head, searching for any blood or signs that he had split something.

"Excuse me, sir? You're sitting on my book."

A small, tentative voice called from behind him. He looked down to see his leg half covering the open pages of what appeared to be some sort of readers digest, though he couldn't make out the words; he assumed that was a bad thing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even see it there."

He said, picking it up delicately and handing it to its owner.

"Are you alright, sir?"

The woman asked, gently kneeling down beside him, placing the book a bit away so it wouldn't get wet.

"Yeah, I'm fi-"

He stopped when he saw the brown eyes that unmistakeably belonged to Milly.

"f-fine,"

He continued, looking down at his legs. He didn't want to deal with her right now, not after having to put her in her place in front of all the men. He jumped slightly more out of surprise than pain when he felt her fingers in his hair. He let himself relax, trusting that she would either explain herself, or at least not do something completely horrible like kill him while his back was turned.

"I saw you fall. Do you remember what happened?"

Her words made him realise that she was searching for any visible damage, but as her fingers brushed over the area where his neck met his skull, his mind went temporarily blank. It had always been a sensitive area for him.

"Uh... I saw a shark and panicked."

He told her after his mind began working again.

"Hmmm."

She mumbled, signalling that she was paying attention to both him speaking and her inspection.

"So you read a lot?"

Gooz asked after a few long awkward seconds, remembering that he had nearly sat on her book.

"Yeah, my parents used to read to me before I went to sleep at night. It helps calm me down."

She gently took his jaw and tilted his head slightly, allowing her better access to the side.

"Do you have a headache or feel nauseated at all?"

She asked again, moving herself to kneel where he didn't have to crane his neck to see her.

"Define headache."

He said dryly. Milly chuckled and nodded.

"Alright I admit dumb question. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Two."

"Congratulations sir, you are concussion free."

She said with a smile before collecting her book. Gooz rubbed the back of his head, feeling a sense of guilt rise in his throat.

"I'm sorry."

Gooz was surprised to find that the words hadn't come from his own throat.

"I shouldn't have spoken out. I'll do better next time, sir."

"You know you still don't have to call me sir."

He said, looking up at her, noticing a touch of pink dust itself lightly over her cheeks. She cast her eyes downwards and cleared her throat.

"You look nervous. You okay?"

He asked, slightly concerned that he had done something wrong. Her blush only worsened at his inquiry.

"No, I'm fine, but I'd better be going. See you tomorrow, sir."

Gooz watched as she stood, brushed the sand off her sundress and walked away, all the while wondering what he possibly could have done to make her want to leave.

Stretching out his legs and leaning back on his hands, Gooz took in the view of the ocean. The sun was just beginning to turn the water to a vibrant orange colour, and soon it would set in an array of magnificent reds and gold. Sighing to himself, he picked up his board and made his way back towards the surf. He only knew one cure for the blues, and it sure as hell wasn't sitting around on a beach waiting for the waves to come catch him.

* * *

Back at Wheeler Airfield, Earl had just been reading the paper when Milly walked into the barracks and sat down cross legged in front of him on his bed.

"Can I help you?"

He asked from behind the paper.

"What's Lt. Wood's favourite dessert?"

She asked, her head cocked slightly to the side. Earl lowered the paper just slightly so that he could see the girl overtop of it. He raised an eyebrow at her, making her turn her head to the side to hide a blush.

"I just want to do something nice for him. He hit his head, and I want him to have something nice to return to. Make him feel better."

Earl didn't believe the girl for a minute, but he figured he would let it slide, lest she become flustered.

"I don't know for sure, but I know he likes chocolate chip cookies."

"Great idea!"

She cried, getting up and rushing to the door, her heels tapping lightly against the tile. He laughed when he heard her stop scuttle back and poke her head into the room.

"Thank you!"

She called, making Earl smile as she ran off again. Turning back to his newspaper he shook his head and chuckled.

* * *

Gooz lumbered home from the beach just as the darkness of the night was beginning to fully set in. He knew as well as anyone that it was dangerous to surf at past sunset. Walking home at night he didn't mind so much. He was an army officer carrying a giant wooden plank. The odds may not have been in his favour if he happened to be attacked by someone with a gun or a knife, but he could at least do a bit of damage if they got close enough. He saw a few women walking alone along the streets and vaguely wondered if Milly was the type to walk outside at night on her own. He didn't think women should walk alone at any time of day really. Not because they were vulnerable, though men could generally defend themselves better during an attack, but because he thought they would enjoy the presence of another with them. Yes, walking was good quality time with one's self he supposed, but it was rather lonely and even a chore if one didn't enjoy it. He supposed men might want someone to chat with as well; he, however, didn't mind walking alone, which made him wonder whether other men minded it. He wouldn't be surprised either way. Everyone was differe-cookies?

He could smell the fresh scent wafting over him as it seeped through the cracks of the door of the barracks. As Gooz walked in he noticed Danny, Red, Joe, Anthony, Billy, and even Earl tucking into a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"Where'd you get those?"

He asked, reaching for one only to have Billy snatch the last one away from him.

"You snooze you lose."

"Come on Billy give it to him, they're his after all."

"Fine."

Billy relented, handing Gooz the treat. It was gooey and soft, just the way a fresh, homemade cookie should be. He savoured it for a moment before turning to his friend.

"Who sent them?"

Earl just shrugged as he bit into what remained of his own cookie. Gooz frown and sat down on his bed, eyeing the empty plate. Now really who would do that? The girls from the kitchen might have but why would they have given them only to him, unless Earl was lying, though he didn't have a habit of it. Mary, the nurse? She might have, she was a kind old lady; it still seemed unlikely though. Well, one thing was certain. He had no idea who would do this for him, but he would appreciate it if next time they didn't let his barrack mates get their meat hooks on his cookies.


	5. Burn

For Gooz, nightmares were a rare occurrence. Even when they did happen they were usually about mechanical sheep feeding on books, or the cafeteria running out of his favourite dessert of chocolate chip cookies. Well, they had been his favourite until the mysterious cookie plate had showed up. Now that he thought about it, they had been infinitely idiotic to eat those. Whoever had put them there could very well have poisoned every single one of them. Poisoned or not, however, they had been delicious.

The previous night's trauma had been a fair bit more serious than a mere missing snack time favourite. He had seen fire, and smoke. Columns of it rose from the harbour in plums that reached the clouds above, some even beyond. His world was ablaze and ringing with sound: machine guns rat-tat-tated left and right, bombs squealed as they rained from the heavens, and everywhere dying men were screaming in agony. But all Gooz could focus on was the voice of a woman. She was singing. Her voice was deep and low, not at all like the loud and high noted opera singers his mother so adored. The song was so upbeat that he would have danced had he not been so worried about not only the fact that his home was burning, but that the voice sung words that he couldn't understand. Another song began to play over it, one that was more military in nature. Again, he couldn't understand the words though he recognised that it was a different language from the first. The songs rang out, striking fear into Gooz's heart. Though the tunes were cheery in themselves, they overwhelmed Gooz along with everything else that was going on. He covered his ears in a desperate attempt to block out some of the noise, but it was no good. He could still hear the rumbling, the shooting, the voices, everything. If anything, the world around him got louder to compensate for the silence he was trying to inflict upon himself.

Dropping to his knees, Gooz nearly cried out in anguish. He was close to giving in when a third song started, this one different from the rest. It started out quietly, faintly creeping in seemingly from somewhere inside his very brain. It didn't get very loud at all, but it drowned out the rest of the world. Every sound, every other melody was blocked out by a single voice. It was the same voice as the other two songs, and yet altered somehow. It was softer, more comforting, and sung a song made just for him.

"I don't want to set the world on fire,"

The feminine voice sung gently in the same low tones as it had the other songs.

"I just want to start a flame in your heart. In my heart I have but one desire, and that one is you, no other will do."

Gooz collapsed onto his side, curling up into a foetal position as the song continued. He could vaguely make out a corpse a few yards away, though he didn't recognize who it was. It unnerved him that it mirrored his exact position. Was he looking into a mirror, one that predicted the future? In the distance he could hear someone calling for him but he ignored it.

"Gooz... Gooz..."

It spoke softly. He let the song lull him into a sleep so deep he felt as though he would never wake up.

"Gooz!"

This time he could clearly tell that the voice that had been calling him belonged to Earl. Opening his eyes, Gooz noticed that the other man had a hold of his shoulders, and was leaning over him, looking exceedingly worried.

"Gooz, it's time to get up for work."

He said sternly. Sitting up slowly, Gooz began to wonder why Earl had woke him up so ferociously, and why he was shooing everyone away from the bunk. He made a mad dash for the bathroom where he examined himself in the shower. There wasn't really anything they could laugh about unless his dick had managed to escape from his boxers, and he didn't really think his barrack mates would gather around for that. He was proud of his piece, but he wasn't so arrogant as to think that he had a manhood of monstrous proportions. No, it had to be something else. His eyes stung slightly, maybe he had contracted pink eye? Unlikely, he hadn't had trouble opening his eyes that morning.

Upon exiting the shower and making his way to a mirror, he noticed something odd. His eyes were red, and a bit puffy. He had never in his life woken up with red eyes. He had always been a clear-eyed waker, thank you very much. He turned to look at Earl, who was brushing his teeth one sink over.

"You were cryin' in your sleep."  
He explained softly, attempting to preserve what was left of Gooz's dignity. He was grateful for that, because quite honestly the dream hadn't been all that scary. Though, apparently, it had been at the time.

Gooz finished cleaning up, and began making his way over to the airfield. He noticed a few men avert their eyes as he looked towards them, only to feel their eyes on the back of his head after he had walked past. He had to concentrate to not speed up his steps. He felt his body relax a bit as he reached the plane Joe and Milly were already working on.

"Mornin'."

He greeted in what he thought was his usual tone. Milly's head shot up at the sound of his voice, her brow furrowed.

"What?"

He asked, feeling small under her piercing gaze. She studied his face a moment before going back to the plane's exposed engine.

"Nothing. How did you sleep?"

She asked just before receiving a face full of oil from the plane. Gooz couldn't help but laugh along with his colleagues. All the while, Milly gave them reproachful looks as she attempted to clean herself with a rag. It really didn't achieve much. Aside from getting off the majority of the liquid, it just managed to spread a coating of oil anywhere Milly happened to wipe it.

"You look like ya got half a tan!"

Billy exclaimed. Milly glared and snatched the new rag he had been holding from his fingers. She looked at it for a moment before sniffing it.

"Is there vodka on this?"

She asked.

"Yeah. When you're mom's a drunk, and she asks you to clean the house, you learn to use what's around."

He stated calmly. Milly nodded her thanks, and continued trying to remove the grime from her face. When she finished she looked up at Joe who hadn't yet stopped laughing.

"Oh yes, hardy har har. Laugh all you want. Joe you owe me ten peanuts."

Joe, who was still howling away, managed to get out between his laughing fits that this was the second time that it had happened today.

"Yeah, and it's only 8:30."

Milly grumbled as she threw the rag away and resumed her work. Red approached her with yet another fresh rag that had been tied to form a bandanna.

"For your hair."

He said, handing her the rag. Though the colour had faded slightly, you could still tell it had once been forest green.

"Oh, thank you Red! I didn't even think about a Kopftuch, great idea."

She said slipping it over her head. Gooz, who had been going through a work form at the time, looked up in time to see Joe raise an eyebrow.

"Koftouch?"

He asked, knowing for sure that this was not an English word. Milly smiled.

"Yeah. It's Gaelic for head scarf. My grandmother was Scottish. She used the word all the time."

She touched the bandanna fondly, and Gooz could tell that it had brightened her day.

"Oh yeah, how's Betty, Red? Did she like the present?"

She asked as she tinkered with the engine some more. She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead, giving herself a large black grease stain on the left side of her face to join some of the other smears that hadn't fully come off earlier.

"Yeah, she did. Did uh..."

He asked, pointing a pen over at Gooz. Milly looked up at Earl, who nodded from his perch. Gooz got the distinct feeling he was being conspired against, so he interjected.

"If you plan on puttin' a snake in my bed I will personally smother y'all in your sleep."

Earl chuckled.

"He still hasn't figured it out yet."

"Really?"

Joe asked. All eyes were on Gooz at that point except for Milly, who was happily working away, apparently oblivious to the conversation.

"Gooz you can't possibly be this thick."

Danny said in disbelief, looking at the aforementioned mechanic with the same emotion in his eyes.

Bewildered, Gooz looked between each man, trying to figure out what he wasn't being told. He felt panic rise in his chest as his silent question went unanswered.

"The snakes are already in my bed!"

He cried. What if the snakes were poisonous? Were there even poisonous snakes on Oahu? He highly doubted that this was a poisonous-snake-free island. It was a tropical island, weren't said paradises usually filled with insects and animals designed exclusively to kill people? It was like the ocean. Nothing in there was safe. God forbid they put a sea snake between his sheets! That thing would not only be deadly but slimy as well! What if it was a python that managed to swallow his pillow, or worse, the secret stash of peaches in his footloc-

Milly made the cookies.

"There we go."

Earl said, noticing the spark of realisation in his friend's eyes. Gooz glanced at Milly, who was still applying her wrench to the engine, before looking back to Earl. Tilting his chin in Milly's direction, Earl signalled for his friend to go talk to her. Nervously, Gooz approached Milly, leaning against the nose of the plane as he spoke.

"So uh..."

He said, gaining her attention.

"Yes, sir?"

He touched his cap. He had to do it. There was no avoiding this.

"Would you mind makin' another batch of them cookies?"

He asked lowly, making Milly laugh.

"Well, I would, but I think the kitchen staff might notice the rapid depletion of their supplies."  
Though disappointed, Gooz couldn't help but notice something odd about that statement.

"Wait, you stole from the kitchen?"

Milly looked up at him, trying –and succeeding- to convey innocence in her brown eyes.

"No..."

He stared her down for about three nanoseconds before she buckled.

"I didn't steal it I swear! I traded! Nancy, one of the cooks, she said she'd give me the ingredients in return for a favour."

"And that favour is?"

"I can't say."

She responded quickly, turning back to the plane. Gooz let it slide. He wasn't one for digging into other people's business. As long as she hadn't stolen anything, he supposed it was alright. He was curious though, as to what Nancy could have possibly asked for that Milly felt as though she couldn't tell.

"Well, thank you for the treat, Milly." He exclaimed after the pause. "It was delicious. Despite the fact that these vultures here,"

he accented by pointing back at them with his thumb, "Ate 'em all and saved me only one."

With that, he turned around and appeared to become immediately engaged in his work. He couldn't help but smile slyly underneath his tilted hat as Milly glared daggers at the other men, triggering nervous glances to be traded among them.


	6. The Hula Hut

"Who's that?"

Milly asked, making Gooz snap out of his coma of sheer boredom. He, Milly, and Anthony had been going through forms, working out which planes needed attention in the more immediate dates, and which could wait until at least after Christmas. Their workload was astonishing for it being such a peaceful base. Gooz couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like in London where they were actually fighting, and had to worry about being shot at while they changed the tubes and gears of the planes that were going to end up in the sea anyways. He supposed, considering those facts, that he should be grateful that he was only bored to death and not bleeding to death.

"That's Evelyn, Rafe's girl."

Anthony answered, his eyes lingering a moment too long on her as she walked past the hangar. Gooz had to admit, she looked lovely whoever she was. Long legs, shiny hair that wasn't all pinned up and curly like the nurses; though he did vaguely remember her from the hospital. She had been there when he had gotten his stitches out.

"Who's Rafe?"

Milly asked. Gooz looked down at her, cocking his eyebrow. He'd never taken her to be the nosey kind.

"He's a friend of Danny's. Got shipped off to England to fight the Huns."

Anthony answered her, signing some obscure order form. Milly sighed, and rested her chin in the palm of her hand, gazing almost longingly at Evelyn as she walked.

"She's beautiful."

Milly remarked as Evelyn disappeared from view. Both Anthony and Gooz nodded.

"Yeah..."

They said together. Milly looked at both of them and rolled her eyes. She grabbed the rest of the order forms and walked away, tearing the scarf off her head.

"Red, I'll wash this tonight and have it for you tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"It's for you silly! You can keep it."

Red said with a smile. Milly's face lit up and she wrapped her arms around the thin man.

"Thank you Red! Can I do anything in return?"

"Keep giving me good advice about Betty."

He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Milly laughed and looked down at the bandanna, a sweet smile gracing her lips.

"Thank you, Red. If I don't see you before then, have fun with Betty tonight!"

She said, waving him off as she made her way towards the airfield's office. Anthony straightened himself and scratched his forehead.

"I guess I'll head to the bar then..."

He mumbled, picking up his cap off the table.

"What do you mean? We still have work to do."

Gooz reminded him.

"Yeah, and she just ran off with it."

Anthony said waving his hand in Milly's general direction. Gooz grabbed his own cap and ran off after her. He needed to sign several of those papers.

"Milly! Where're you going?"

Milly looked back over her shoulder before turning on her heel.

"Aren't you going to the Hula Hut tonight with the guys?"

She asked, staring him dead in the eyes. It was unnerving to say the least. Had he done something wrong?

"Yeah."

He said cautiously.

"So then go, you'll need to get cleaned up. Look, it's already 17:15."

She said, twisting her wrist so that he could see the watch, which triggered a strange urge within him to take her hand and kiss it. Ignoring his absurd desires, he pushed her hand to the side and reached for the papers.

"Sir, I don't have anything to do tonight. You do. I'll fill these out, it's really no trouble."

"Come with me."

He blurted out before he had time to register what he was saying.

"Sir?"

"Come with me?"

He tried a bit slower, not quite sure if that was even what he had said in the first place. He took a moment, considered what he was doing, and tried again.

"Come with me. I'll buy you dinner."

"Do they even serve food there?"

She asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Fries... sandwiches... bar food?"

He said, not really even knowing if they did serve food. Wait, yes they did. He had seen Joe with a meatloaf sandwich there once.

She looked up at him, biting her lower lip in consideration. Finally after a painful moment on Gooz's part she nodded.

"Okay. I'll meet you there at seven."

She finalised, readjusting the papers in her arms and resuming her course to the airfield's office.

"Bye."

Gooz called awkwardly, unsure if she heard him or not. She turned and waved her goodbye to him. He smiled as she continued walking; even in full strength she favoured her left leg. It was a strange gate, but he liked it. It was endearing.

"And exactly what are you gawkin' at?"

Earl asked from behind, but Gooz didn't hear it. He was busy watching Milly walk.

* * *

This was not how the night was supposed to have gone.

Gooz ran a hand through his hair as he sat in the waiting room. It had been less than a two weeks and already Milly was back in the hospital. He knew she hadn't looked good. The moment she had set foot in the bar he'd been weary.

_She'd looked pale. A light sheen covered her skin, and her hair had less of its usual volume. She looked absolutely sick, but he daren't mention anything. Maybe they'd just given her a hard time at the office, or it wasn't a good hair day for her. He couldn't always expect her to look her best; it would be unreasonable. Still... there was something in her eyes. Rather, there was something missing in her eyes._

"_Milly!"_

He had called her over to the table he shared with Red and Betty. She made her way over, albeit a little clumsily. She bumped into several tables along the way. Gooz had thought nothing of it at the time; in the short time he'd known her he noticed she had a bit of a destructive habit. She didn't really seem to know her own strength. When she sat down her smile seemed strained, if ever so slightly. It was genuine, but something was off about it. Still, he ignored it, stood, and made his way to the bar. He listened in on the conversation while he waited for the barkeeper to pour the drinks.

"_You must be Betty."_

_He heard Milly say. He watched her extend her hand to the woman across the table, shaking her hand lightly._

"_Red talks non-stop about you."_

_She said with a coy smile, making both Betty and Red blush. Gooz returned with his hands full, setting down a basket of fries for them to share, as well as shots for Red and himself._

He remembered it quite well. She had looked as though she wanted to ask if she could have two buns to make a fry burger, but decided against it. Honestly he wouldn't have said no if she had asked. Hell he probably would have gotten a bun for himself. He had just taken down his shot when the next thing he knew, Milly was standing and making her way towards the door.

"_Is she okay? She didn't look good."_

_Betty commented, and with that Gooz was on his feet._

Why in hell had he ignored his instincts? She had plain and simple looked sick, why couldn't he just have admitted that?

"_Milly?"_

_He called, looking around the beach as he went down the steps of the bar._

"_Milly?"_

_He called again, getting more concerned by the second._

"_Gooz?"_

_The voice was weak, but enough to get him in the right direction. He turned his head, hoping to hear her voice again so he could pinpoint her location. He was able to, but not from her voice. The gritty yet slick sounds of coughs and hacks were what led him to her. She had gone down the beach and was supporting herself against a palm tree. Though the tree was strong, it bent slightly under her weight as she was leaning almost her entire body mass onto its trunk._

"_Milly, you okay?"_

_He asked, moving a piece of her hair so he could see her face more clearly. Her brown eyes looked eerily black in the night, even more so against her pale skin. She looked up, trying to force a grin to her face, and all that did was make her look worse._

"_I'm fine. I just needed ai-"_

_She coughed again, this time doubling over, crumpling into the sand. Strings and dots of black liquid were suddenly revealed in the sand by a shifting cloud. The moon shone down on them, reflecting of the formations enough for Gooz to know that had it been daylight these splatters would not be black, but a deep, glistening crimson. _

"_Come on; let's get you to the hospital."_

_He said extending his hand to take hers. She retracted it quickly and clamped it onto the tree._

"_Don't- I just need to-"_

_She coughed again, making Gooz roll his eyes. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, putting his arm around her waist._

"_Gooz, I'm fine really."_

_She said, though her free hand clutched the one on her side._

"_No, you're not. You're calling me Gooz, not sir."_

_She chuckled lightly but it turned into a sickly gag and cough. More blood and spit came from her mouth, dribbling down her chin and landing in the sand below._

"_Get me home,"_

_Milly managed between coughs._

"_And I'll never call you sir again."_

_Gooz didn't even consider it. He was smart enough to know that if he brought her home now it could potentially be the end of her; he would rather she call him sir his whole life than let her die. He readjusted her weight so most of it was leaning against him, and began to walk to his bike._

So there he was, in the hospital again, waiting for the nurses to figure out was wrong with Milly. Personally, he suspected it had something to do with the fact that not three weeks prior she had been hit over the head with a baseball bat. That had to have done some damage.

He looked up to see a rather plump woman trot over to the receptionist desk, her chubby little arms flailing franticly in the air as though she was waving to a great mass of people.

"I just heard what happened! I have got to see her; I need to know if she's alright!"

She nearly screamed. Her voice set Gooz's teeth on edge. He wondered who else was in the hospital that night. It was unusual for more than two patients at a time to be here, though he supposed it wouldn't be so much of a stretch.

"Milly's doing just fine Mrs. Treyar, you can talk to her tomorrow."

The nurse said with a sort of finality in her voice. Gooz cocked an eyebrow. Go figure. The only two patients in the hospital and they happened to have the same name.

Gooz yawned and checked his watch. It was nearly one in the morning. At least he didn't have to go to work tomorrow. Maybe in the afternoon he would bring Milly to the beach with him. It would be nice and breezy, she could read a book and he could keep an eye on her from the surf. Once she was better he'd teach her how to surf. He wouldn't let her go into the water while she was sick of course; though that did seem a bit hypocritical. Still he hadn't been coughing up a lung and a bucket of blood to go along with it while he went surfing.

He looked down at his hands for the millionth time.

They had been covered in Milly's blood from when she coughed or gagged. Some of it had spilt on his hands while he held her hair back, or when she wiped her mouth and had touched him. He hadn't minded, really. He wasn't squeamish. Yes, it was a bit disgusting if he thought about it too much, but for Milly's sake he could look past that minor detail.

The door to the ward Milly was in swung open, and the nurse Gooz recognised as Evelyn walked out.

"Lieutenant Wood?"

She called softly, knowing that it had to be him, there were no others in the waiting room. He touched his cap and stood.

"She's stable; you should probably go home and sleep."

She said, looking as though she wished someone would tell her the exact same thing.

"Can I see her?"

He asked, pushing his hands into his pockets. Evelyn nodded and led him to the back of the ward where Milly was laying, looking up at the stars through the large windows beside her bed. She noticed his presence right away, and smiled for him as he walked towards the bed.

"How you feelin'?"

He asked, noticing that she had at least regained a bit of the colour in her cheeks. The nurses had cleaned her up, though; maybe the red tinge was just from scrubbing away the blood around her mouth.

"Not bad. Evelyn said it was just a bit of pneumonia. I'll be back at work on Monday, I promise."

Her voice was hoarse. It sounded as though she had swallowed a handful of gravel, and it looked as though she had proceeded to pick out each piece by hand. Monday his ass. If whatever she had had forced her to cough up blood, he expected her to be out of action for at least another week. She shouldn't be promising something she couldn't achieve.

Gooz touched his forehead and looked at the ground. He didn't want to admit it, but she did look awful.

"You should go home. You look tired."

Milly said, coughing a little.

"I look tired?"

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright, I know I look like shit."

She giggled. Her laugh grit the same way it did when she spoke, but he liked it anyways. He took her hand and kissed it delicately.

"Yeah. Get some sleep, okay?"

Her giggles had faded, being replaced by a light blush. She smiled shyly and lowered her eyes, only to burst out in a full out schoolgirl grin the moment Gooz left.


	7. Timing

A Bloodstone In A Sea Of Pearls

Chapter 7: Timing

The mood in the hangar come Monday morning could be equated to a comically harsh looking black cloud hanging over each of the men's heads, following them around and drenching them in a constant downpour of rain. The weekend which was supposed to have brought much needed rest and relaxation had brought nothing but chaos and disruption. Billy and Joe had gotten into a fight with some sailors at the Hula Hut once Gooz had left, and not two hours later Betty had gotten upset with Red for something he had or hadn't said; honestly Gooz wasn't sure who said what on that one anymore. Earl had received a rather nasty call from his mother claiming that he still owed her a large sum of money he had borrowed and paid back three years prior, and while Milly was still in the hospital, Gooz was happy she was there. She would live, this he knew. She would be back at the barracks in a few days, smiling and laughing with the men as usual. In fact, he hadn't lost much compared to the rest. He had gone to a fight on one of the ships with Danny during the weekend, hoping to win a few extra bucks for a get well present for Milly. Some flowers, a card, something simple just to brighten her day. Needless to say he'd lost the bet, and hadn't worked up the nerve to go see her empty handed. Compared to the others, his lose had been minimal at worst.

Of all the men, it was Danny who had been hit the hardest. His childhood friend Rafe had been shot down in England.

There really wasn't any more to be said on the matter. He was gone, and since Gooz hadn't known the man personally, all he could do was try to stay out of Danny's way.

Meanwhile, while the men were trying to avoid each other, Milly was attempting to fight her way through the nurses that were determined to have her remain in the hospital. They'd already threatened several times to strap her to the bed.

"You need rest, Mildred. Now get in the bed before I call the police!"

Mary threatened, her grey hair frazzled from the stress of trying to keep Milly down. The younger woman simply took her clothes and faced the head nurse with an icy stare.

"Either you let me get changed in the bathroom, or I'm stripping right here."

She stated simply. Mary scoffed at her.

"You aren't changing into or out of anything, missy, now get your bum back in bed!"

Milly didn't move for a few more seconds, but when she did it was to take her hospital robe off. True to her word, she stripped right then and there. Mary, utterly shocked and dismayed, turned her back and did her best to cover the girl from the rest of the wing. When she finally turned her face was red with indignation, her arms were crossed, and her feet were firmly planted on the ground. Milly knew that it was her way of saying; _this stubborn old nurse isn't going anywhere!_

"Fine. You've changed. Now return to that cot before I really do call the police on you."

"I'm going to work Mary."

"You are not leaving!"

The old nurse shrieked.

Milly couldn't say that she always got her own way; it was indeed a rare day when she won any sort of argument. But she had made a promise to Gooz that she would be back at work on Monday, and it was already getting on towards noon.

"Yes, I am."

Milly said with a cold stare, daring the nurse to try her patience further. Today, Mildred Anderson was not one to be fucked with.

Gooz tossed the dirty rag hopelessly to the floor. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed Milly and her mechanical expertise. He was used to tapping into guns, making sure they worked and fired properly. Engines on the other hand were something he never really learned. This particular plane's engine would start, but after thirty seconds of running it would sputter out; it caused Gooz an enormous amount of frustration from the false hope he received every time he started the damn thing. He could simply leave it and wait for Milly to return, but he knew she wouldn't be back for a good three days. Maybe he could get those children to simply kick the damn thing into functi-

Children?

Gooz stopped mid-action. He could have sworn he heard a child's laugh. Yes, he heard it again! There was definitely a child around the hangar!

He began a frantic search around the plane and then the tools, desperate to find the kid or kids before they hurt themselves. A hangar was no place for a child to play, what with all the potentially fatal tools, fatal liquids, and fatal…fatalities. The possibilities were infinite as to what could hurt a child in this place; it was like a giant child murdering building of utter doom! Not to mention all the cussing!

It was only after he lifted his head from the cockpit -figuring a young boy would love nothing better than to get into a real plane and pretend to fly it- that he saw her; and it made his heart drop into his stomach.

Milly was walking forwards in her usual attire, ready to work as she had promised. He was happy to see her, ecstatic in fact, but it was the little boy holding her hand and waddling at her side that shocked Gooz. She never mentioned having a son.

"Mimy pane!"

The boy, no more than two years old chattered, apparently delighted to be seeing a plane for the first time.

"Yes, Carson, plane! Very good!"

She said, petting his downy blond hair before picking him up and carrying him the rest of the way into the hangar.

"And who do we have here? Is this the new pilot Milly?"

Earl asked, moving towards the pair. Milly smiled as she readjusted the boy in her arms.

"It sure is! Carson, this is Earl. He's my boss."

Men usually weren't ones to swoon over kids, but when Carson extended his hand for Earl to shake it the whole hangar made a silent and unanimous decision: this kid was awesome.

"Pleased to meet you, Carson. What say we get you into your plane?"

Earl asked, jerking his thumb to the P40 over in the far corner of the hangar. It was to be stripped and cannibalized for its parts because of a faulty engine. It wouldn't start no matter what they did to it, and so it made the perfect toy for the chubby toddler. The boy nodded vigorously as Milly set him down again.

"Now Carson you go with Earl, okay? And you listen to him, because who is he?"

Milly asked, kneeling down and cupping her hand to her ear.

"Boss!"

"Right. He's the boss. Be good."

She said kissing the top of his head.

"Ehs Mimy."

He said before scuttling off after Earl. Milly couldn't help but smile, the little boy was just so cute.

"Mornin'."

Gooz said, waddling his way over to his mechanic. She saluted him briefly, still beaming outwards and in, though she soon gained a look of concern on her face when she noticed the mood in general of the hangar.

"What's wrong?"

She asked, looking past him to see her friends working on their own projects. None of them were joking or laughing as they usually did.

"And what happened to Billy and Joe? They didn't fight each other did they?"

"No; sailors."

He said simply. Milly furrowed her brow and bit her lip. That explained it.

"Betty got mad at Red, and uh, well you remember Danny's friend Rafe?"

He asked, and Milly's eyes widened. Gooz touched his cap and Milly covered her mouth with her hands.

"What do we do?"

She finally asked after a moment of silence.

"Just stay away from him for today. He'll come 'round."

Gooz said, casting a glance at the man who was focused in so narrowly on his task that he seemed to be in a trance. Truth be told, Gooz didn't know if he would come around. Milly's eyes began to water just as Carson called out to her, smiling like it was Christmas time and he had gotten exactly what he wanted.

"Mimy! Fying!"

He cried with a giggle. Milly smiled at the boy.

"That's great, sweetheart! Show Earl how you taxi!"

She called, her voice nearly cracking.

"That kid knows how to taxi?"

Earl asked, amazement lacing his voice.

"He knows more about planes than I do!"

She chuckled, folding her arms over her stomach. She still had a look of utter dismay about her and Gooz couldn't help but wonder why. After all, she wasn't connected to Rafe in any way; hell she hadn't even known who he was until two days ago. Even so, a fat, glistening tear slid its way down her cheek. She went to wipe it away but Gooz got there first, wiping the offending droplet away with the back of his knuckles. A blush crept onto Milly's face, but she smiled at him in gratitude.

"Thanks. Sorry."

She said, rubbing the rest of the tears from her eyes.

"So how old is he?"

He asked, jerking his chin to the child who was now pretending to fix the plane.

"Oh geeze, I don't know. Carson, how old are you?"

She called, the child briefly paused in his game to hold up four fingers.

Milly scoffed.

"Bullshit, he's no more than three, if that."

Gooz glared at her.

"You don't know your own son's age?"

He asked her, shocked. He had though Milly to be too young to have a child, but he had never thought she would make a bad parent.

"Oh, he's not mine, I'm taking care of him for the afternoon. I owed his mom a favour, and he wanted to see a plane."  
She explained with a small laugh.

"Then why does he call you mommy?"

"He calls me Mimy. He can't pronounce his Ls yet."

She said, a fond smile appearing on her face.

Well... now he felt like an ass...

Though he couldn't help but feel relief at her words. He didn't want her to have a son. Well no, it wasn't that he didn't want her to have a son eventually. He just didn't want her to have a son right now. More accurately, he didn't want her to have someone else's son. He sighed slightly and went back to the plane, examining those feelings rather carefully as he did his work.

He had been so disappointed when he'd thought she had had someone else's child. For a moment he had felt as though he had lost something inside him, a piece of him had temporarily gone missing.

He glanced up from the wing gun he was working on up to where Milly was sitting just behind the cockpit, straddling the plane as though it was some sort of horse.

She was different. She wasn't like the nurses, and he liked that. She was strong, independent and fierce, but it didn't prevent her from being kind and gentle. There was just something so unique about her that he couldn't put his finger on. Maybe it was the way her hair shone gold in the sunlight, or the delicate pink of her lips. Then again it might be the-

"Gooz?"

Shit, she'd caught him staring.

"Sorry. Lost in thought. What was the question?"

Milly just shrugged and shook her head. She checked the clock and went back to work, remaining silent for the rest of the day with only a few shouts of praise or warning to Carson in between. Overall, Gooz was rather thankful for it. She made the silence comfortable, and in the simple act of being present she made the others more comfortable with their own silence. It was five o'clock before she spoke again. Tossing her wire cutters to the ground with a clatter, she pulled herself from the cockpit and looked down at Gooz.

"Help me down please?"

She asked, sitting where she had been a few hours ago, but this time with both legs facing his side of the plane. He stretched out his arms to her, motioning with his fingers to hop down. She grabbed his shoulders and jumped, allowing him to catch her waist and wrap his arms around her. He stumbled back a bit, making her cry out in panic and clutch his shoulders. He laughed slightly, regaining his balance almost immediately.

"I gotchya, I gotchya,"

He said soothingly, and lowered her until her feet gently touched the ground. A dusty blush rose to her face as she released him in order to brush back the stray hairs that had fallen over her face. Her blush worsened when she realised that he was both still looking at her, and he still had his hands on her waist. She opened her mouth to tell him he could let go of her now but her voice seemed to have abandoned her.

Gooz's heartbeat kicked up a notch when he flicked his eyes to her lips before lowering his face to hers. His mind reeled, hoping to high heaven that she wouldn't reject or slap him.

"Mimy? Was he doin?"

Carson's voice made him stop in his tracks. Milly's face was even redder than before as she moved from his arms to pick up the small boy.

"Lt. Wood was just telling me a secret. It's time to go home, sweetheart."

She said before turning to Earl.

"Thanks so much, Earl. I'll be sure to pay you back for this."

"No problem. Bye, Carson!"

The sergeant waved as Milly walked away with the boy in her arms.

"I wanna know!"

The boy chattered, making Milly smile.

"One day you'll find out."

She said, tapping his nose gently.


	8. Dance Dance

"Milly? Milly are you there?"

A small voice called from just outside Milly's bedroom. The military had grudgingly given her the single room, not because they wanted to or because they thought she was somehow special, but because realistically she couldn't make it from the nurses' barracks to the airfield on time to work every morning. They weren't too keen on having her share a room with a bunch of men either, so they had modified a spare office space to give her a place to sleep. It even had its own bathroom with a shower and everything, installed just for her. Of course that was something the plumber hadn't been too happy about. Apparently putting the shower and a toilet into a closet had been a bit of a hassle.

"Is that you Betty?"

Milly asked, poking her head out of said washroom to make sure it was indeed the young blond. Seeing that it was, she exited the washroom in naught but her towel, having just taken a shower.

"Oh, I can leave if you want."

Betty said, but Milly knew better. She could see the tinge of red in the young woman's eyes and hear the distress in her voice. She was tempted to tell the blond that yes she should leave; she had plans for the evening.

"No it's fine. Sit down sweetheart, tell me what happened."

She said, pulling a wraparound dress out of her dresser drawer. She slipped into the bathroom momentarily to put the clothing on, and was back in a flash sitting beside the distraught woman.

"I don't know what to do Milly, Red invited me to the big swing night tonight, you know the one, Glen Miller and the Ink Spots are playing? Well I'm not sure I should go..."

She explained. Milly struggled internally for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

"Well I'm not exactly the best person to be giving advice about relationships."

She chuckled, but the blond wouldn't have it. She gripped her friends hand and brought it back to her own lap.

"Please Milly? You see Red every day; surely you have even a small clue about what's going on in his head?"

Milly struggled again, still not sure what she could tell the blond that would be appropriate.

"Honestly? I don't even know what you're talking about. You and Red were fine when I left, and when I got back from the hospital I got the news that you had fought. It's the worst I've ever seen him. He moped all day. He didn't even talk to me which is highly unusual. Normally he loves to chat with me, and his favourite topic is usually you."

She said, watching Betty's eyes gradually grow wider. Milly thought of how happy Red had been at the Hula Hut that night. With Betty at his side there was very little else the man needed. A small smile crept onto her face as she looked the blond in the eyes.

"He's head over heels for you girl,"

She said kindly, pleading Betty with her eyes not to let Red down. Such a kind and gentle man didn't deserve to have his heart broken. Betty seemed to have gained something from the statement, because her eyes steeled and she squared her shoulders in a seemingly new found resolve.

"Right. We need to get ready."

Milly stood still for a moment, slowly but surely getting the feeling that she had just been drafted.

"Betty I was going to meet with an old friend tonight."

She tried to explain. It wasn't exactly true, but she couldn't tell the blond that she just wanted her to go away so she could sleep to her heart's content.

"I need you there Milly, I'm not going without you. Your friend can come with us!"

Betty said, losing a bit of the resolve she had gained not moments before. Milly sighed and nodded, knowing that if she didn't go, Betty would keep her word and not go either; and if Betty didn't go, Red would go to pieces.

"Good! Now hand me your rollers we've got to fix your hair."

_Oh shit what have I done..._

* * *

Gooz, Red, Anthony, Joe, Billy, and even Earl sat at one of the many circular tables that filled the hall. The military had rented it out, decorated it, hired a few bands to play, and they had done a good job of it too. The white tablecloths had been cleared of the plate and silver wear from the dinner long since passed, and the air had since become livelier as the band began to play. Couples danced under a canopy of rich wine coloured velvet and the elegant glow of a crystal chandelier. Light touches of gold in things like the bar stools and the cufflinks on the waiters' wrists added an almost royal feeling to the room, though Gooz wasn't exactly sure that a royal banquet would look anything like this. He assumed it would be a bit tamer and in his opinion more boring than the event he was currently at. He had just been admiring the air of grandeur about it all when he noticed Red fidgeting with his tie.

"You don't think she'll stand me up do you?  
He asked, looking like he was about to fall apart at the seams at any given moment. Poor Red, he had always been the nervous type. Gooz crossed his arms and shook his head.

"No,"

He said firmly. As Red's chosen wingman for the evening it was his responsibility to keep the man in high spirits, and be ready to hand out advice at any given moment. It wasn't his place to say that he didn't have a single clue as to whether Betty would show up or not. Women were so bloody complicated anyways he figured even the best wingman out there wouldn't know the answer; and he certainly was not the best.

"I'm getting a drink. Want something?"

He asked, nudging Red's arm. The man shook his head no, so Gooz wandered over to the bar, followed quickly by Joe.

Gooz had to feel a bit bad for the poor guy, it was midnight, and already he had been refused by two women. Both of which were now in Anthony's and Billy's arms. Joe ordered himself his seventh drink of the night while Gooz sat down and ordered his third.

"Say Gooz, where's Milly?"

"I don't know, why?"

"I just figured you would have asked her to this."

He said with a shrug. Truth be told Gooz had thought extensively though he hadn't worked up the nerve to actually do it. That half assed kiss had taken the muster right out of him.

A sudden breeze let the men know that the door to the hall had opened, and curious, both looked over to see who it was. Two women and a man stepped into the room and it was as if the hall suddenly brightened. The first woman was Betty, that he knew. Her red dress and blond hair were unmistakable, as was the twinkle in her eyes the moment she laid them on Red. She rushed forward, followed swiftly by a couple, one being a pale soldier with blond hair, and the other was a brun-

The other was Milly!

Gooz hadn't recognized her, he was so used to seeing her in her mechanic clothing; he was taken by surprise at the floor length, short sleeved gown that she wore. It hugged her curves perfectly, allowing him to see the sway of her hips when she walked. Her hair was down like it had been the first time he'd seen her, framing her face and neck in soft waves. She shot him a shy smile from across the room and taking that as his hint, he downed his shot and crossed over to her. He didn't see the harm in it, after all she didn't have her arm in the soldier's, and after the other day's events he wasn't going to jump to any more conclusions.

"Milly."

He said, taking her hand and delicately kissing the back of it.

"Evening sir."

He frowned at her greeting. Was she trying to re-establish a professional connection after that almost kiss?

"Sir, this is Private John Stray."

"Pleased to meet you sir. I'm new to the place, and Mildred here was kind enough to show me the way."

The soldier said, saluting him. Gooz had to wonder why Stray had used Milly's full name rather than the one she preferred, but he saluted the man anyways and extending his hand to him.

"Pleased to meet you too Private."

The young man smiled before turning to Milly.

"I'm going to get myself a drink. Would you like something?"

He asked. Milly shook her head no and so Stray left for the bar, leaving Milly to Gooz.

"It wouldn't have looked good if I called you Gooz in front of him."

She said, seeing the dejected look on the man's face. He was just about to comment on that when Joe sauntered over and took Milly's hand.

"You look stunning this evening."

He said, and quite to Gooz's surprise, sounded genuine in his compliment. Milly must have picked up on it too because she smiled graciously.

"Thank you. You look handsome yourself."

"Care to join me in a dance?"

He asked, and while Milly hesitated a moment, she did accept in the end.

"But only because I was so mean to you when we first met."

She said playfully, allowing herself to be dragged to the dance floor.

"So close."

Earl chuckled as Gooz stood stunned. He felt as though someone had just stolen his wallet! Gooz sat down miserably and watched as Joe moved with Milly, one hand in hers, the other on her waist. His blood began to boil at the sight, but he stayed calm, knowing it would do no good to burst into anger over such a trivial thing. It was only a dance. And only because she had been mean.

_Joe you are one lucky son of a bitch..._

However, not a minute later Milly was back at the table again, nursing a stepped on toe.

"Learn to dance before you ask a lady Joe!"

She cried in mock anger. Truth be told she had thought his nervous demeanour to be quite cute, though her toes weren't so thankful for that. Joe turned his head in embarrassment until Milly spotted a young black haired woman in the crowd and waved her over.

"Joe this is Alice, one of the nurses who took care of me when I had pneumonia. Alice, honey, this is Joe, a man in desperate need of some dancing lessons."

She said with a bit of a chuckle. Alice looked him over and with a smile, extended her hand.

While Joe was on the dance floor with Alice, Gooz, Earl and Milly took a bit of time to chat amongst themselves about the party, the new recruites, politics, the music, anything that came up really. Gooz noticed that while Milly wasn't all knowledgable, she did have informed opinions and he thoroughly enjoyed the conversation the three of them shared. They had just been talking about President Roosvelt when Gooz turned to Milly, attempting to steel his courage and shove down the lump of nervousness in his throat.

"Milly, would you-"

"Okay Milly, he's all trained up."

Alice said, taking a seat and fanning herself. Joe had clearly warn her out but was still raring to go himself. Before Gooz could protest Joe took Milly's hand and pulled her up.

"Wait, Gooz what were you going to say?"

She asked, and Gooz's courage failed him again.

"Nothing, go on."

He said and waved her away.

"C'mon. I'm determined to do this properly."

Joe said with a chuckle. Milly, unable to say no, allowed herself once more to be taken to the floor and at this Gooz felt his temper flare again. That was twice now he'd done that! He had practically given her away!

Then again, at least she had been kind enough to ask him what he'd been about to say. It was his own damn fault for not asking her right then to dance.

"Anyone up for a game of shots?"

The voice made him snap out of his moment of frustration and look up at the young man holding his first beer of the night. He looked tipsy enough as it was, so he decided to play along. It wouldn't do any harm he supposed to distract himself from the fact that Joe had just rubbed his nose in it.

"Shots?"

Gooz asked, not exactly sure what game he was talking about.

"Yeah, shots. You take one shot every minute for a hundred minutes. See who can make it."

Gooz just laughed.

"That, boy, is called Centurion, and I will show you how it's done."

He said, clapping the boy on the back and leading him towards the bar.

* * *

"You're losing altitude there Joe."

Milly noted as his hand strayed further and further from her waist.  
"Well what if I was going in for a landing?"

He asked, taking her hand and spinning her before catching her again in his arms. Milly simply laughed as she resumed the dance, letting Joe lead her steps. He was doing surprisingly much better than the last time.

"Well what if I told you the hangar's closed for tonight?"

Joe pouted as the band began playing a new dance, and Milly stopped.

"I'm going to get a drink. Care to join me?"

She asked, picking up her dress slightly so that no one would step on it. Joe followed her to the bar where Gooz was sitting, or more like tipping over in his seat. He couldn't help but feel his chest constrict at the sight of the lieutenant, knowing that things could potentially go very, very badly.

"Gooz?"

Milly asked, immediately noticing his lack of balancing abilities.

"Mill- Milly, Where'd you come from?"

He asked, his words falling from his mouth as though he hadn't had proper time to form them.

"Gooz how about some food, man?"

Joe asked, thinking about ways to get to get Gooz away from Milly. He didn't want her seeing Gooz like that.

"No no no no I am going to stay here with this- this lovely lady here."

He said pointing at the woman who was tending the bar for the night. Joe's eyes narrowed as he looked from her to Gooz, to Milly.

"Oh it's fiiinne. Milly doesn't right? She won't be getting a boyfriend anyways."

Joe stared at him in disgust as Milly laughed and nodded.

"Right."

She said with a small smile.

"I'm a bit tired though, I'll see you all on Monday. Night Gooz, Joe."

She said a little too quickly. She picked up her dress and made her way calmly to the door. Joe's knuckles whitened.

"You're an idiot."

He growled at Gooz before marching to the door, intent on making sure Milly was alright.


	9. Sunkissed

Gooz spent the entirety of the next day in bed, sleeping off his hangover.

Sunday, however, he was up at the crack of ten, surfboard tied haphazardly to his motorcycle. A day at the beach was just what he needed, he figured, although he didn't doubt Nurse Mary would have some severe objections to that. He could already hear her screams if she found out he had been out surfing while still partially drunk. He could picture her angry glare, but the pale elderly eyes that were Mary's suddenly turned into young, deep chocolate brown ones, though Milly's eyes were still holding the same angry glare. It made his heart leap into his throat.

Sooner or later he was going to have to fix his mistake; either that or live the rest of his life hiding in shame every time he saw Milly. The latter didn't seem like a very honourable thing to do, or a sensible one for that matter. He still had his job to do, and he highly doubted they would let him switch hangars and even airfields because he had pissed off a woman he happened to like. If he bribed them they might, but his chances were still slim. It would take money he just didn't have.

He sighed at the sight of the beach, the waves rolling in perfectly; as though the sea had known that today he would need cheering up, and decided to welcome him with open arms. He left his bike leaning up against a tree, his shoes sitting placidly alongside it, and stepped onto the soft sand. He took a deep breath of ocean air, strode forward, tripped on a rock, stumbled around a bit, and fell flat on his face. Sand gritted into his eyes and up his nose. He lay in the dirt for a moment, thankful that his mouth had been close.

He lifted his head upon hearing a small giggle from behind him. Under the same palm tree as last time, although now with a different sundress and also a different book, Milly was stifling laughter with a hand over her mouth. Her other hand was clutching her body as though she had a stitch in her side. Gooz felt his face flame up in embarrassment and quickly turned towards the water. He hoisted himself from the sand and once he had reached a fair depth, bent over and splashed water onto his face to clear out the sand. While the salt water stung at the yet unhealed wound on his chin, he felt much better knowing that there was no longer any sand in his nostrils.

He made his way back to Milly, rubbing the excess water off his chin.

"I was an ass at the party. I want to say I'm sorry, and I want to make it up to you,"

He said, sitting down next to her, looking up at her with a plea in his eyes. Milly scanned him before lowering her eyes.

"You were drunk, sir, you didn't know what you were doing."

Her words were soft, but they pierced Gooz's heart like a blade of steel. He hadn't expected to get off scotch free in the emotional hurt department, but that simple sentence had torn him open. He wondered, fear pounding in his ears, if he had lost her.

"No, I did,"

He said blankly making her raise her eyes, brimming with shock and hurt.

"No! No I didn't mean it like- just hold on,"

He begged, holding his hand up and silencing himself before he could become more flustered. He had to get his words together before he made a bigger fool of himself. He was silent for a moment, and when he opened his eyes, he let out an exasperated gasp. Milly was laughing at him.

"Are you kidding me?"

He asked in a tone of anger, making Milly laugh harder.

"I'm sorry it was just really cute!"

She exclaimed much to Gooz's confusion. She took hold of his hand and squeezed gently, though Gooz wasn't entirely sure she hadn't taken hold of his heart at the same time. Her eyes were bright with life and laughter, and he was quite thankful that he was sitting down because his knees had gone weak.

"It's okay,"

She said softly, leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. His face went as red as a fire truck.

"Really?"

He asked, cocking an eyebrow, and flashing an almost shy smile.

"Well, if you really must make it up to me, I wouldn't say no if you asked me to lunch in a few hours."

She added playfully. Gooz chuckled.

"It's a date then. In the meantime, join me for a swim?"

"I don't have a swim suit,"

She confessed, sounded genuinely disappointed.

"A walk along the beach then?"

He asked. She nodded.

"That would be nice."

They stood, brushing the sand from their clothes. Milly immediately retook Gooz's hand in her own, and led them closer to the sea. She took a deep breath, as Gooz himself had often done, and gazed almost longingly at the waters before them.

"You like the beach?"

He asked, hoping to learn a bit more about her personally rather than just what he knew from work.

"I read about the sea a lot, but until being posted at Pearl I had never seen it. It's everything I hoped it would be,"

She said dreamily.

"Have you been in it yet?"

Milly shook her head at the question.

"I don't have a swim suit at all I'm afraid."

"Well, let's not let that stop us,"

He said, flinging her arm around his shoulder and scooping her up. A cry of shock escaped her as she grasped his shoulders, trying to support herself in his arms. It took her a moment to realise what was happening, but when she did she cried out.

"Gooz don't you dare!"

She yelled, clinging on to him tighter than before, letting out a squeak when a small wave touched her toes. Her level of alarm rose slightly when she noticed that, firstly, a rather large wave was coming at them, and, secondly, that Gooz wasn't making any move to avoid it.

"Hold on tight!"

He said, bracing himself for the wave. Milly clung to Gooz for dear life, took a deep breath, and, just before the wave hit, closed her eyes. She felt Gooz jump into the wave, and turn them around so that Milly was on top of him as the wave crashed over them. The sheer power nearly made her gasp. The water was still cold despite the tropical climate, and she could have sworn someone was tugging back on her hair by the force the water was exerting on it. Almost as soon as it had happened, it was over, and she was at the surface, gasping for a breath, the taste of salt on her tongue.

"How was that?"

Gooz asked, his arms now wrapped delicately around Milly's waist. Milly smiled and let out a giggle.

"That was amazing."

She moved forward, and this time kissed his lips delicately and slowly. Her face positively shined when she pulled away, and Gooz was pretty sure it wasn't from the water.

"Thank you."

Gooz took the opportunity to kiss her more soundly this time, tasting the salt of the sea on her lips. His mind went blissfully blank when she ran her hand over the base of his neck. He only came back to reality when he realised that he was being clung to rather hard, and not only that but Milly's lips were no longer on his. She was in fact, struggling to keep her calm as far as she could tell, and looking down he could see why. About a dozen or so tiny hammerhead sharks were swimming around their legs. Gooz had learnt from his time in Pearl that they were nearly harmless creatures at this stage in their life, seeing as their nips barely drew blood. He also knew that the parents didn't care for the pups as they were called, so the threat of a protective mother was out of the question. Milly, however, clearly wasn't happy about being surrounded by sharks.

"They won't hurt you,"

He said, kissing her temple.

"The Hawaiians believe that some sharks are the reincarnations of their family members, returned to protect them as Aumakua. Sea gods."

"Some sharks?"

Milly almost whimpered.

"Some are Aumakua, good sharks, and some are Niuhi, bad sharks. These little guys are Hammerheads, they're the most respected of all sharks,"

He whispered softly as another wave lifted them up a bit, and scattered the tiny creatures from below their feet.

"Oh no, come back! I didn't mean to offend you,"

Milly called, reaching into the water after them. Gooz laughed.

"They'll be back. They'll be here until they can go off on their own."

"Can we bring back fish for them?"

She asked, her eyes glinting like jewels in the noon light.

"One day,"

He promised her, though he promised himself that they would do it at a thoroughly unoccupied beach, and in a boat that wasn't easily tipped over. All he needed was a great white scenting blood in the water. He didn't intend on having anything yellow near them either. Now that he thought about it, maybe he shouldn't have promised her that... What would he tell the guys at work?

_Yes, right, um... Milly got eaten by sharks, and therefore will not be joining us today... or any other day hereafter..._

They would murder him, Gooz thought grimly.

There was a rather loud grumble from beside him as Milly squeezed the excess water out of her hair. She looked away slightly embarrassed, but Gooz just chuckled.

"Let's get you back to the base. Then we can tend to that hunger pang of yours,"

He said kindly. Milly blushed and nodded, happily taking his hand once more.

Thankfully, it didn't take Milly long to change at all. She slipped into a plain blue dress, put her hair in a lose bun, and rejoined him within ten minutes. While outwardly he was a gentleman and took her arm, inwardly he was smirking to himself that he had gotten what was perhaps the one woman in the world who actually got ready quickly. Whether or not Milly noticed, it didn't seem to make a difference. She was as happy as a clam the rest of the day. She didn't even flinch when Tina asked what she was going to have, instead she just smiled and said,

"The usual."

Gooz had ordered himself a steak, and hoped for god's sakes Milly's 'usual' wasn't a salad, or something. He didn't think he could stand it if she was the type to eat like a bird. The only time he had seen her eat was the day he had first met her, and understandably, she'd been starving at that point.

"So where do you come from that you've never seen the ocean before?"

Gooz asked.

"Vermont. My family didn't get out much,"

She added with a touch of embarrassment. Gooz nodded. That was probably why she had joined the Navy. See the world, wasn't that their slogan?

"What about you?"

"Lexington, Kentucky."

"Isn't that where they run the Kentucky Derby?"

"No, that's Louisville,"

He corrected. Milly nodded.

"Right, I was close. At least it started with an L."

Their drinks came and Milly's eyes grew childishly wide at the sight of her chocolate milkshake.

"I love these things,"

She stated happily, slurping it up without a moment's hesitation. A sudden shadow crossed her face however, and although her face returned to the content state it had been in before, Gooz hadn't failed to notice.

"What?"

He asked, wanting to know what was on her mind.

"What?"

"You looked unhappy for a second there,"

He noted. Milly blushed.

"Oh it's nothing."

"Milly,"

He said, taking her hand and making her blush even harder.

"If there's anything wrong-"

But he was cut off by Tina bringing their food to the table. She set down Gooz's steak, and much to Milly's delight, her usual.

Gooz couldn't suppress his laughter.

"Your usual is a Fryburger?"

He asked, but Milly didn't answer. She was busy hiding the fire engine red of her face by digging in to her meal.


	10. Operation: Supplies

Gooz, and the whole population of the barrack really, knew that something was going on by the clatter that was coming from down the hall. A stream of whined curses, the clattering of objects on linoleum, the creaking of bedsprings, gasps and groans, and all manner of other sounds could be heard coming from Milly's room.

"What in the blue hell is going on in there?" Earl asked after about five minutes of listening the ruckus. Gooz, Red, Billy, Joe, Anthony, and Danny were all wondering just about the same thing.

"Just leave her," Red dismissed with a wave of his hand. He in particular did not want to know what was going on in there. Danny gave an affirming nod.

"Yeah, but Gooz is right here," Joe said, jerking his thumb over at where Gooz was sitting, listening with a distraught look on his face. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it certainly did sound like some extracurricular activities were going on in there.  
"Should we go check on her? I don't hear anyone else in there," Billy asked, but Danny gave him a strange look.

"Don't you think that would be even more awkward?"

"Are you kidding? He'd be in there like a dirty shirt," Earl scoffed, making Danny and Joe laugh, but Gooz shushed them and held up his hand. Listening hard, he could pick up the sound of a long, terrified shriek being muffled by something like a pillow. Gooz jumped up immediately.

"Milly!" Joe called, having clearly heard the scream too. The men skidded their way down the hall, and as he was in the lead, Gooz was the one to fling open the door and reveal the disaster zone.

"What am I going to do?" Milly cried, her eyes wide with madness.

Books, clothes, several hairbrushes Gooz hadn't even known she owned, what he supposed were curlers though he wasn't quite sure, and a pair of what looked like curved pliers were strewn everywhere. They didn't really look like pliers at all in fact, they had a band of what appeared to be rubber padding where they clamped down, they were small, and the handles looked more like scissor handles than pliers handles. He was quite frightened of asking what the object was meant to do.

He could see where Milly had screamed into her pillow, the edges being wrinkled from being clamped down upon, and an imprint her face had left was still visible as it sat amongst the various other things that had been haphazardly tossed onto her bed.

"Milly?" he asked curiously. Her drawers were all open, clothes spilled out of them as though they had somehow managed to come alive and vomit shirts, socks, and a rather pretty polkadot dress all over the room.

"I need a- no, I can't do that..." Milly muttered, spinning around to looked at her room. "What if they don't like me?" she asked, looking meaningfully up at Gooz, clutching a tube of unidentifiable blue goop to her chest, which had fancy black lettering written on it. He could just make out the word 'conditioner' on it before she tossed the tube into a small bag, stopped, and took it back out again, throwing it into her small bathroom, presumably into the sink, with a clatter. Perhaps he had taken too long to answer her question.

The men exchanged looks of confusion mingled with concern.

"I don't even have a nightgown or any pyjamas, oh Lord Almighty they'll think I've slept with all of you!" she yelled, running her hands through her hair before getting to her knees and searching for something on the floor.

"You sleep in the nude?" Billy asked, only to receive a glare from both Gooz and Milly.

"It's a lot hotter in Oahu than I'm used to, alright?" she snapped, getting up and running into the bathroom, coming out just as fast with the same tube of goo, and tossing it back into the bag she had previously taken it out of.

"What happened?" Gooz asked, worried, because whatever had upset her had to be worst than sharks, ruining the water supply, and being treated like just some brainless twit all put together. This was the most upset he had seen her yet.

"Evelyn, Sandra, Barbra, Betty, Martha, the girls, they invited me to spend a night with them." she said, sitting cross legged on her bed and clutching a pillow to her chest. "A girl's night..." she whispered as though it was some horror that shouldn't be spoken in polite public.

"I thought you liked Betty," Red said stiffly. Milly clutched her pillow harder.

"I do, but I don't know the first thing about the others except their given names!"

"So... because you don't have any pyjamas, they'll think you're a slut?" Joe asked, again receiving a glare.

"Well, what use would a slut have with pyjamas, Joe!" she asked. "I don't even know how these curler things work!" she fretted, picking up a curler and tossing it aside hopelessly. Red picked up the curved metal pliers-scissor like tool, and held it up to Milly.

"Do you know what this is?"

Milly took it from him with a nod.

"Oh good, because they're starting to scaring me."

"It's for your eyelashes. To make them flip up, it makes your eyes look bigger, brighter."

"Is it painful?" Anthony asked, making Milly laugh.

"Not if you do it right."

Gooz was shocked. He had only seen makeup on Milly a few days ago at the party, but she had looked so beautiful then, how could she have managed that if she didn't know what half her stuff did?  
"That's what Betty said anyway. Truth be told, she did all my hair and makeup on the night of the party. I don't know what that foul gunk does either. I just know she put it in my hair." she said, looking to the tube of conditioner in her bag. "They're going to think I'm so clueless. I don't even know what Vogue is... Evelyn said they were going to discuss it. It's not some sort of test, is it?" she asked, looking hopefully up at the men in her room.

"Well, they'll be right about you being clueless..." Billy said bluntly, earning himself a cuff on the back of the head from Red. Milly put her head on her pillow.

"I'm good with engines, not all this cosmetic stuff. I'm going to be an elephant in the room." she muttered. Gooz shoved several articles of he didn't quite know what over to the side and sat down beside her.

"You can borrow one of my shirts if you want," he said softly, to which Milly nodded. At least if it was borrowed from him the girls might think that her sexual activities were restricted to one man, which seemed to be one of her main concerns. It wouldn't exactly make her seem puritanical, but he figured it might help. Billy just shook his head.

"No, no, no. We're going to fix this properly," he said, taking Milly's hand and pulling her up. "Grab your purse. Boys, we're going shopping. Let's go." He pointed to the door. No one moved for a moment. "Well?" Billy asked, and everyone shuffled out. Milly grabbed her purse and locked up quickly, noticing she was nearly being left behind.

"Does he normally do this?" Milly asked, but Gooz just shrugged.

"This is new to me too."

The car ride was rather awkward, as everyone was waiting on Billy's instructions for what to do. When they stopped, they were in the shopping district of Pearl Harbor, parked in front of a rather large department store.

Billy stopped and turned to face the others.

"At attention," he commanded, and the others, being military, obeyed without question, but with questioning looks. "Mission Objective; procure proper equipment for future night operation. Red, get a Vogue magazine, and ask the lady at the makeup counter for the 'Spring Package'. Joe, get a decent bag. It should be able to comfortably fit three uniforms, a mortar gun tube and base plate, and a tennis racket with enough pockets to fit three grenades and two days worth of K rations, and make it green. Gooz, go to the fourth floor, ask for Annabelle. Tell her I sent you, and that it's girl's night. She'll give you what you need. Danny, if you see any of the nurses Milly is spending the night with, head them off. Tell them the building is on fire."

"Won't they-" Danny began, but was quickly cut off.

"Get back in the car. Everyone else put all the purchases on Rachael Delois's tab. Meet back here in fifteen minutes. Earl, you're with me." Billy ordered, and Milly watched in shock as they all ran off to do as they were told. They marched off, leaving a very confused Anthony behind calling to them; "What about me?"

"What about Anthony, and why do I need a mortar tube?" Milly asked, a little concerned about what exactly Billy thought she might be doing that night.

"Anthony, you're with us. For... moral support," Billy called before turning back to Milly. "You think he's going to know how big that bag needs to be if I tell him make it big enough for a set of pyjamas, a pack of girl's night candy, and the 'spring package'?"

No, she suppose he wouldn't know, given that she herself didn't know. "How do you kno-"

"I've had a few girlfriends. Come on, we need to find you some pyjamas."

"But Gooz said he would give me-"

Billy stopped and gave her a look. "Trust me."

Milly shut up and followed him to the second floor, and into the evening wear section.

"What's your size?" Billy asked, as he began to rummage through the various nightgowns and other such sets.

"Large." Milly mumbled indignantly, looking jealously over at all the selection the tiny women had. She had never had any luck when it came to finding things to wear. Her mother had always had to make her clothes for her, which was sometimes a blessing, other times a curse. Billy, Anthony, and Earl made quick work of the rack, the later two holding up each item for Billy to approve or disapprove of. Within ten minutes, he seemed to settle on one set of pyjamas.

"Here. Go try that on, make sure it fits," he ordered, handing her a set of pyjamas consisting of a t-shirt and pants.

"Won't that be a bit hot?"

"Its cotton, it'll breathe. If it gets too hot it's acceptable to roll up the pant legs and make shorts out of them." he said, herding Milly to the change room. She slipped the outfit on, making sure it fit while trying not to let the absurdity of this whole situation sink in just yet. Within fifteen minutes of Billy giving his orders she was back at the front of the store. Gooz, Joe, and Red were all carrying packages and bags of varying shapes.

"This girl's night is complicated business, isn't it..." Milly murmured, as they put the purchases into the car. "Who's Rachael?" she asked, suddenly realising that she had just gained quite a few items without paying for them.

"A girlfriend from a while back. She'll never notice those items with all the shopping she does. A little extra money on her tab won't kill her," he said rather bitterly.

"That's not right, Billy," Milly said sternly, resolving to go back when she had time and pay back what she owed on this Rachael woman's tab. He just snorted, and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went white.

Upon getting back to the barracks, the men swept Milly's belonging's from the bed, and replaced them with her new purchases. They made quick work of the wrapping and began putting all of the things into the new bag Joe had picked out for her, which happened to be quite a lovely shade of light green. Next, Billy took up some of Milly's old clothes and packed them as well, expertly folding them and placing them gently into the bag. Lastly, he put in the package Gooz had gotten for her.

"That's chocolate, and some candy for you and the girls, so hold it away from your body or it'll melt. A dirty joke will go a long way in helping them trust you. Honesty goes a long way too, just not about their behaviour concerning you. They do everything right if they do it to you. And this is the most important thing, so listen up," Billy ranted, getting closer and closer to Milly as he spoke. "If you have feelings for a man," he flicked his eyes to Gooz for a second before returning them to Milly. "Let them know. Let them know that he is taken and defended, because otherwise, and make no mistake about this, they will snap him up in an instant. It doesn't matter if the odds are 4000 men to 1 woman on this island." He seemed so serious about it, that she didn't dare question him.

"Yes, sir," she whispered, now more terrified of the girl's night than ever before.

"She's sweet," Danny mumbled. "Evelyn, I mean. She'll look after you."

"Betty will too," Red added with a smile.

"Oh, and don't forget: clean panties and your toothbrush," Billy noted as he made for the door. He stopped for a moment, and flexed his arm in a rather comical manner, showing off the strength of the limb. "And don't forget to play us men up. Put in lots of good words for us." He smirked, and with that, he left.

"Thank you!" Milly called, as he and Joe and Danny left. "I'll talk to Betty, Red. Really I will," she said with a smile as the red haired man left as well, leaving Gooz and Milly alone.

"Well, that was a once in a lifetime experience," Gooz said thoughtfully.

"He's had more than just a few girlfriends, hasn't he," Milly stated more than asked. Gooz arched an eyebrow.

"I think he said last month the count was up to fifty six in the past four years? That could have changed by now though."

They sat in silence on Milly's bed for a moment before he nudged her gently.

"Come on. I'll give you a ride to the nurse's barracks," he said, taking her hand after she had snatched up a last minute book and leading her to his motorcycle. It took a bit longer, considering the fact that the nurse's barracks were a bit farther down the island than the department store was, and also the fact that Gooz wasn't blatantly breaking the speed limit as Billy had been. Gooz was perfectly happy to take his time, enjoying the feeling of Milly's arms around him, her head resting gently on his back.

"Milly?" Gooz asked as he pulled up to the nurses' barracks. She grunted drowsily, clearly having fallen asleep during the drive. She heaved herself off the bike and rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks, Gooz," she said through a yawn. He chuckled lightly, thinking of how cute she looked.

"Milly," he began once she opened her eyes. His grin was replaced with a frown. "What I said at the party, I think you have to understand something," he said, letting go of the handlebar to touch his forehead. He stayed quiet for a moment, but Milly remained still and silent as well, patiently waiting for him to finish. "When I said you wouldn't be getting a boyfriend, I didn't mean it as though you couldn't get one." Another pause. "I just meant that I wanted to be that man," he said finally. Milly nodded knowingly. Joe had trailed her that night just made sure she understood that was what his friend had meant. He had made an excellent wingman.

"So I should let the girls know that you're taken then," she smirked, making Gooz grin.

"Here," he said, slipping off his hula shirt and bundling it up in front of him. He then slipped off his undershirt and handed it to her. Milly took it as though it was as delicate as a Swarovski crystal flower.

"That'll let the girls know I'm taken," _and I'll be telling everyone in the barracks where that t-shirt went, and that unlike the cookies, you, Milly Anderson, are not for sharing. H_e thought a little too ferociously.

He reached out and brought Milly to him, kissing her soundly to make sure the message had time to sink in. It pleased him to see she looked a little dazed as he pulled away. "I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow night, alright?" he asked, to which Milly just nodded. "Have fun, and be yourself. They'll have to like you," he added, pulling his hula shirt back on and kissing her forehead. She waved as he departed, and he gave a small wave of his own.

Later down the road, as the pebbles from the road were pelting his naked chest and stomach, he made a mental note to himself. _If I plan on being romantic,_ he thought, wincing as another pebble struck, _bring extra shirts._


	11. Duct-Taped Heart

"So, why are you even with him?" Sandra asked, cocking an eyebrow at Milly. The question so surprised Milly that she nearly dropped her chocolate truffle. She managed to save it after a moment of awkward flailing, but she did not immediately eat it. She thought about the question first.

"What do you mean?" She asked after a moment, finally popping the failed escapee chocolate into her mouth.

"Don't you find Lieutenant Wood a bit … odd?" Sandra clarified, and Milly found herself pulling at the hem of her – no, his- shirt.

"No,"Milly shook her head slightly and looked around the room. Did the others find him odd as well?

"I just think you could do better is all." She said, tucking her perfectly smooth legs under herself. Milly wondered how she managed that, when all that happened after she shaved was red speckles all over her legs.

"No, I don't think I could."

"Don't kid yourself hun, the odds are four thousand to one, and you're a looker on top of that," Martha said, flipping a page of her magazine.

"Thank you, but I still don't think I could." She said averting her eyes to her knees.

"You know, there's another dance coming up, I'm sure if you went there would be plenty of guys looking for a dance partner," Sandra commented.

"I'm sure, at four thousand men to one woman." She said popping another chocolate, wondering if they had considered the local women in their equations. Martha flipped another page as the song on the radio changed. Betty adjusted a curler in her hair delicately, her bright red nails still drying. Milly wondered if she had become fonder of the colour since the man bearing its name had come into her life. She then paused to admire her ring, and so did the other girls. Sandra, Barbara, Betty, Martha, and Evelyn were all dreaming of the day the war would end and they could settle down, have children, own their own homes and be assured that their husbands would never have to be in mortal danger again. Milly envied their dream desperately.

"When do you think this will all end?" Barbara asked quietly. She rested her chin on her knees, gazing wistfully to the radio as it switched from music to wartime propaganda broadcasts. Milly glanced briefly at the instrument before returning to her chocolate. It wasn't her place to ruin the evening by telling them that it would never end. As long as humans roamed the earth, there would be war.

"Before Christmas." She reassured them, echoing what the government had been trying to impress upon the people. "We'll have to get our Christmas shopping done before dawn if we expect to get anything good." She joked.

"Gee that soon!" Evelyn mocked gasp of shock.

"I'll tell Red you'll be expecting something fancy." Milly said, smiling up at Betty, though she shook her head.

"If he could get me a pair of stockings I'd scream." There was a groan of mutual agreement.

"Don't tempt me, I might steal them from you. Washing those stupid lines of your legs every night is such a hassle." Barbara said, looking at the back of her ankle, where a black smudge had remained.

"Lines?" Milly asked, confused.

"We have to wear stockings, it's mandatory, but we have none, all the silk has gone towards making parachutes for the war." Evelyn explained.

"So we draw the lines on our legs with eyeliner." Betty continued, "And God forbid you should mess up that line during the day, or worse in the morning," she said with a groan. Milly made a mental note to mention this to the guys, and to be thankful that she didn't have to wear stockings.

"What do you think Gooz will get you?" Sandra asked, to Milly's growing annoyance. Why did she have to pick on him?

"I'm not sure, he hasn't really given me anything before." She said, while Sandra's eyes flicked to her shirt. "Other than this." She corrected, fingering the collar of the shirt. Once he thought of it however, she thought perhaps dinner at the Greasy Spoon and a card. A milkshake would be nice too, she thought, and afterwards they could bring fish to the baby hammerheads.

"What do you think Anthony will give you?" She asked, and Sandra blanched. She'd hit a sore spot, and Martha seemed to be smirking behind her magazine.

"I don't know." She said curtly. Milly knew she had struck a blow, she just hoped there would be no more. Then again, this had become war, and war never ended.

* * *

Gooz sat in comfortable silence, watching the traffic go by outside the theater. The girls would be out in a matter of minutes, though that didn't really matter to him. He was content sitting on the curb for a while, and would be for a while yet. The night life of the city was bright, colourful, and full of diversion. The sounds of people speaking to each other, and the gentle breeze were making it seem less of a wait and more of a night just sitting in quiet contentedness. His friends were talking beside him, joking among themselves while they waiting for their own dates. They had the car, and Gooz had his bike, since there was only so much room in the vehicle. The doors of the theater opened suddenly, and the movie goers began to file out. Most had smiles on their faces, laughter filling the air. He stood, seeing Milly coming towards him. Her head was down, her pace slow. She kept in time with the other girls, but didn't speak or look at them, and Gooz began to worry. She lifted her eyes just enough to greet him, a fake smile pushing her lips up until she stood next to him. Gooz wanted to demand to know what they had done to her, until he took a look at the sign on the theater, showing what was playing.

"You saw The Ghost Train?" he asked the girls. They nodded in unison.

"Nazi-sympathisers, in America, can you imagine! Too bad you can't tell Germans by their looks so we could send them back to their own country." Barbara commented, but Gooz wasn't listening. He was too busy being angry at the girls for not realising that Milly didn't like scary stories. She had probably agreed to it simply because she hadn't wanted to offend them, and to obey Billy's orders.

"Hitler and his whole lot can stay in Germany. Have you heard the rumours about their trains?" Sandra asked. Barbara was the only one to nod yes, the others looked among themselves and shook their heads no. Milly made no move.

"Well, I've heard that they're herding people from their homes onto trains, box cars, like the kind you transport cattle in."

"And if you get on, you're never seen again." Barbara said.

"That can't be true, no way. The military is only one group, the people of Germany wouldn't stand for something like that, being taken away by their own govnerment." Evelyn said, a frown pulling at her lips.

"Well whether it's the whole truth or not, those stories had to come from somewhere, and it seems like something Hitler would order." Barbara said sternly.

"Let's just hope none of his family survive the war, we don't need his sons or nephews taking up his old mantle once he's gone." Sandra said harshly, to which the others solemnly agreed.

"Well, we'll see you later, Milly. We'll have to get together again sometime!" Sandra said. Milly nodded, meeting the other woman's eyes and providing whatever weak smile she could.

"See you next month!" Barbara said laughingly, causing the others to be reminded of the fact that come Monday, it would be December the 1st. Joe looked to the sky, noting how odd it was not to have snow during the Christmas season. Most of them nodded their agreement, and with that they said their goodbyes. Gooz's bike was parked a block away, and so he took Milly's shoulders and walked her slowly away from the group. He waited, expecting her to say something, anything, but she never did.

He fired up the bike and held out his arm, which she took, and sat herself behind. Worry crept into his heart when she didn't put her arms around him, or rest her head on his back like she normally would. He looked back, making sure she was at least holding onto something, and found her hands just at the hem of his jacket. She hadn't greeted him with her usual smile, and now she barely wanted to touch him. He felt hurt to say the least.

"Something wrong?" He asked, and she turned to look back at the group before shaking her head no. Gooz didn't believe her for a second, but perhaps now wasn't the time. The girls had done this, whatever it was, and he was determined to get her away from them. He nearly sped back to the barracks, his anger slowly but surely merging with the fear, the two feeding off each other and growing in the silence that separated him from Milly. It was silly, Gooz decided, how much one could miss the feeling of a head resting on their back.

For her part, Milly did not want to touch Gooz. She didn't even feel comfortable on his bike anymore. She had expected animosity, but she hadn't expected that it would cut so deep. Would Barbara truly attempt to deport her if she showed some outward sign of being German? Would the men? She'd slipped up once, calling the bandana a Kopftuch, which was blatantly a German word. She'd claimed it Gaelic, but that didn't mean they didn't suspect her now that the girls had mentioned Nazi-sympathisers. And now, such a term was becoming unanimous with German. Milly didn't think she was a Nazi… was she? They wanted all of Hilter's family dead, so she didn't think she could escape that title, even with her work in Pearl she was effectively betraying the Nazi party. Her uncle had sent her to put as many planes as she could out of commission, and she had been using her skill to repair them, to make sure that enough of them would work when the Japanese attacked, as they'd been planning for so many months. But was that enough? When she'd started she'd thought so, but now she wasn't quite so sure.

Once they had gotten home, Milly's actions remained stiff and slow. She got off the bike and began walking before Gooz had even parked, but he was able to catch up to her easily. He walked her in silence to the barracks and to her room, unsure of what else he could do. She didn't speak to him, she didn't touch him, it was as though the Milly he knew had flown away and left nothing but a shell. An unhappy, lost, unenergetic shell. The movie couldn't have been that bad, it had to have been something the girls had done, but what?

He stopped at her door, and in the same sluggish manner she reached for the handle, stopping when Gooz pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head.

"Night. Sleep well." He murmured, brushing her arm with the back of his knuckles before turning to go.

_If I tell him who I am, he'll hate me. If I tell the military, they'll kill me. They might not believe me. They might not take it seriously. They will if he tells them though …_

For a girl who had so far been lethargic she caught his hand with amazing speed. He squeezed gently, letting her know in his own fashion that he wasn't going to go anywhere. She licked her lips, and opened her mouth, collected her thoughts.

_I can't tell him. The military will lump him in as a spy with me. They'll kill him too._

"All night, all Sandra could ask me was why I was with you," She said lowly. Gooz frowned, but continued to hold her hand. "And I couldn't give her an answer." She admitted.

So this was what the girls had done. They'd shown her the light, told her that she was too good for him, and that she could do much better than him. All of this was true of course, but he'd dared to hope that she wouldn't notice. He had to commend the girls, he'd only been Milly's boyfriend for a couple of hours, and they already had her breaking up with him. She took her hand from his and his heart broke.

It lay there shattered for a moment until Milly wrapped her arms tightly around him, her head resting on his chest. She sighed as her fingers clutched the back of his shirt. "I've wanted to do that since that stupid night started," she muttered as he tried to keep himself from laughing. Instead he settled for smiling goofily to himself while he held her. Milly's hugs, he decided, were like duct-tape designed for hearts. More specifically, his own. "And they made me see that awful show!" She exclaimed, pulling away to look at him. "Are you laughing?" She asked incredulously, before giving him a light smack on his arm. "You're laughing at me!" This, unfortunately, actually made Gooz laugh. "Jerk," she muttered, as she squirmed half-heartedly from his grasp and went for the door handle again. This time it was Gooz who caught her and he pulled her back, kissing her forehead when she came close enough.

"I wasn't laughing at you, promise." He said, and although he got the sense she didn't believe him she seemed to accept it anyway. "Sleep well, okay?" He said, giving her one last hug before heading to his own bed.

He heard her door close as he went, and went on grinning as he flopped down on his bed. A few of the other men weren't back yet, he suspected they wouldn't be back until much later, for obvious reasons. He could easily go back to Milly he supposed, have sex with her. Though she'd probably refuse him, and in all honestly he didn't think it necessary. He was perfectly content to lay on his bed, happy that she was still with him. No need to rush things. With that thought he drifted off to sleep with a grin on his face.


	12. Care of Post

Milly spat a thick wad of blood onto the floor, along with a shiny piece of white tooth stained with red; a bit of molar from what her tongue could tell. Her hands, bound to the chair behind her, chafed and burned were the rope bit into her skin. Those at her legs were less painful, if only because they were separated from her skin by the fabric of her pants, though they were tied just as tightly. "I've already told you everything. I told you everything when I came in, beating me won't he-"

Another blow to the face. More blood on the floor. She wondered where the sun was in the sky. It seemed like ages ago that she'd seen it last, but the pain may have slowed her sense of time. Was anyone missing here out there? Looking for her? Or had they told her friends that she'd been transferred? Perhaps they'd told them she'd drowned, lost at sea. It seemed plausible.

"What's your name?" The voice of the interrogator had become increasingly ragged over the course of the interrogation. Perhaps it had been all that yelling.

"Brunhilde Blutstein," she repeated for what felt like the fifteenth time. It was probably more like the twentieth. Her story wouldn't change as they expected it would, or perhaps as they hoped it would. The longer she looked into the eyes of the man who was interrogating her, the more she realised he was desperate for her story to change. He couldn't handle that what she was telling him was the truth.

"Please, you can keep beating me once you've told your generals that the Japanese are coming, all this won't stop them, and believe me, they are on their way," she wheezed, the sentence too long for her battered lungs. She coughed, spattering the blood and spit over her knees. The man took her chin between his fingers, and looked into her eyes. She pleaded him silently before another blow came, this time to her temples.

"I don't believe you," he said sternly.

"Then you're an idiot," she spat, and for it she was punched in the stomach. "Why would I tell you the Japanese were coming if they weren't? You have nothing to lose by being prepared, and I have nothing to gain by admitting it."

"I'm sure," he said in an unbelieving, yet uneasy tone. The door to the room opened, but Milly did not look until she felt the heat upon her skin. She wheeled around, and realised that her interrogator had been handed a metal rod, red hot as it made the air around it quiver. "You could be trying to gain favour with us, the war could go either way," he said, moving the rod dangerously close to her back. "What other assignments have you had?"

"None," Milly said, her tone betraying her fear. She let out a shriek as the scent of burning cloth and flesh filled the room. "None! I swear none!" Another sting of the rod.

"What did you do to those planes?" He asked, Milly shuddered as the pain raked her body.

"I repaired them, and I was better at it than your own damn mechanics!" She shouted, looking back angrily at the man, though the pain of the next two touches blinded her. She saw nothing but white for a few seconds as the man scorched another two marks.

"I told you," she said through gritted teeth, "I gain nothing by admitting this," she said lifted her head with all her strength, her eyes looking towards the small window near the ceiling as the swastika on her back blistered angrily. The sky was cloudless, blue, and perfect. Gooz would be surfing today. "Just a clear conscience."

* * *

Gooz fiddled uneasily with the two pieces of hairpin, the small objects slipping far too easily for his sweaty fingers to handle.

"Damnit Gooz, give it here," Earl said after five minutes of watching his friend struggle with it. He was about to take the halves from him when Gooz threw them down and planted his foot with all the force his rage gave him into the middle of Milly's bedroom door. The wood around the lock shattered and Gooz entered to find everything gone. The bed had been stripped, her things were nowhere to be found, and everything had been returned to that in between state that barracks had when they were void of occupants. Earl peeked in, a frown on his face. This had been their last hope of finding her, though at least it looked as though the disappearance had been voluntary. Gooz hadn't seen her since the night he had picked her up from the theatre, and although he had been worried, he hadn't gone into panic until Milly hadn't shown up for work on Monday, or on Tuesday. Deciding that it was time for drastic action, the men had taken it upon themselves to break into her room. Gooz wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't this.

"Looks like she got reassigned," Joe said hopefully, seeing this as a much better alternative than what had been all running through their minds; that she'd been murdered. Gooz shook his head, as he opened all the drawers of the empty dresser.

"That can't be, she would have told me," he said, overturning the mattress. "She would have told us, right?" he asked, taking a brief look into the bathroom. "I'm … I'm not crazy, she would have …" Gooz mumbled, looking around the room in dismay, his heart lodging itself squarely in his throat, "Right?" he asked, looking back at his friends. Earl and Joe just watched him pitifully.

He wasn't crazy. He wasn't. She'd been angry at him that night, but not so much as to leave him without any parting words. She wasn't the kind to do that. So she'd left on her own then. Why? If she wasn't angry at him, then Joe was right, she'd likely been reassigned, but that didn't fit either. Nothing about this made any sense, but if she had been reassigned, surely there would be a paper trail.

Having never seen him in such a state before, Earl could only watch as Gooz ran from the room and jumped on his bike.

The post office, Gooz thought to himself as he sped down the highway towards Pearl City. If anyone had a paper trail it would be them. When he got there, he ran into the office and nearly flung himself over the counter.

"My girlfriend got transfered, and I need to send her a letter. Her name is Mildred Anderson," Gooz said bluntly to the young man behind the counter.

"Right away, sir," the boy said in a voice that suggested he had eaten a bowl of sunshine for breakfast. After five minutes however, his smile faded a little.

"Sorry sir, we've got Milly Andel, but no Anderson," he said with a sympathetic shrug, "we might not have received her information yet. When did she get transferred?"

"Three days ago."

"I'll give it another look, but it might be another month before we receive the forwarding information," the boy said. Another five minutes passed, then another, while he went through the other files in case something happened to have been misplaced.

"I'm sorry sir, she's not here," he said again, becoming uncomfortable at the look Gooz was giving him.

"Anything for Gooz Wood?" Gooz asked. The boy scurried to the back room, grateful to be away from the determined sort of glare Gooz had been wearing. He raised an eyebrow when the boy came back with a letter in his hands.

"The woman who left it said you'd pick it up, so she didn't put an address on it," the boy said, passing it to Gooz. He ripped it open and devoured the contents.

_Gooz,_

_I'm sorry for the sudden departure, I just couldn't face everyone, saying goodbye is always so hard. Oahu has been wonderful, but unfortunately I'm needed elsewhere; though where that is I can't say since I don't know myself._

_Please forgive me,_

_Milly_

She'd never hurt him, not like this. She would try to distance herself with words. She'd tried on numerous occasions, but she'd never distanced herself in terms of physical space. It didn't take long for Gooz to realise that he was quite wrong in this, she'd done that before as well, most memorably when he had been a jerk to her at the party and she'd walked away from him. But would she walk away from everyone? Earl, Joe, Billy, Danny, Red, Anthony, Evelyn, Martha, Barbara, Betty? She'd walked away by herself, from everyone at the party. Gooz came to the gut wrenching conclusion that Milly had abandoned him.

It was then that a voice without an owner invaded his mind and stated with the most stern and omniscient tone; _That's not true._

Gooz had an intimate knowledge of the voices inside his head, and he knew for a fact that this one was one he had never before encountered. The voice of reason took on Earl's tones; that of vengeance was often Joe's. His mother's voice and Red's were often the ones which encouraged love and forgiveness, and Danny was always the voice of caution. This was different. It was neither masculine nor feminine. It was simply powerful. A statement of unwavering assurance. Whether it was his inner self, his conscience, or perhaps even God, Gooz knew deep down that whatever it was, it was right. Superficially he could doubt it all he wanted, but it was right. Milly had not abandoned him.

"Can I leave a letter here, so you can forward it when you get her information?"

"Of course!" The boy said, handing over a piece of paper, pen, and an envelope for Gooz. He turned the page, wrote _Milly_, and then stopped. What would he write? What could he write? He had heard somewhere that women thought being given the moon and the stars was romantic, but he didn't think Milly would appreciate that. What could he write to her that would tell her how he truly felt?

Milly,

I want to take you out every day to the Greasy Spoon, and get you a chocolate milkshake. I like the way your eyes light up when Tina brings them to the table. I want to bring you to feed the baby hammerheads. I don't really think it's a good idea, but for you I'll do it, and I'm sure they'll appreciate it. I want to sit around a camp fire, and have people tell you scary stories. That way you'll get scared, and you'll snuggle up to me. I want to teach you how to surf, so maybe we can go together some day. I want to see you wear my shirt, because I didn't get to, and that makes me sad. I wish I could go back to the first day I met you, and tell you how amazing you are right then and there. I would tell you that your kisses are just as sweet as your cookies, and that your hugs are the best thing since sliced bread. I would tell you your limp is the bees' knees, and that I love it because it makes you seem all the stronger. I would tell you these things…

_But you would never believe me,_ he thought with a frown. Instead, he scribbled down exactly how he felt, wrote Milly's name on the envelope, and handed it to the boy.

"I'll make sure it gets to her as soon as we get wind of where she's gone," the boy said with a promising smile. Gooz nodded, and left just as an uneasy feeling began to settle in his stomach. She's gone, he thought to himself, but just for a little while. Now, he thought, might be an excellent time to go surfing.

* * *

Back in the post office, the boy behind the counter let out a long exhale as his boss came in through the back door.

"What's wrong?"

"That guy had me looking for a half an hour for his girlfriend's address, and when I couldn't find it, he asked if I would send this when I could find it. A half hour of looking for this! Listen to what he wrote! Milly, I miss you. Gooz. That's it! Half an hour!" The boy let out an exasperated sigh before filing the letter, and resuming his work.


End file.
